Reluctant Memories
by KD Skywalker
Summary: When confronted with someone from his past, will Levi seek forgiveness for the biggest regret in his life? Or will he push her away because he does not want to deal with his regret? Levi/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

'… _This is for your protection…'_

 _A young child whimpered and tears fell from her eyes as she watched the needle break her skin as her father injected the serum into her arm. She could feel the thickness of the cold serum enter her bloodstream. And as soon as it had begun, it was over._

' _Was that so bad?' her father asked as he placed a hand against her cheek and wiped away her tears. 'It is only to protect you from the outbreak.'_

'… _but I thought I was leaving to go train with the Cadets."_

' _You are, but this is just to make sure that nothing evil ever befalls you…'_

She slowly opened her eyes as a single tear rolled down her cheek. She quickly wiped the tear away as the memory of her father faded from her mind's eye. What she would not give to remember more about her father and even her mother. Did she have any siblings? Where had she grown up? Were her parents kind people? Yet all of this only raised more questions.

Questions she could not answer on her own. Then there were the other elusive memories that would come and go from time to time –

Running for her life from something or someone…

Stumbling in darkness…

Finding protection in the arms of young man with grey eyes who vowed to always protect her…

Perhaps someday she would be able to unravel the mystery to who she was and what had happened to her.

So until then, she would just have to go by what she already knew.

She was Alena Vagner and as of yesterday, a major in the Garrison Regiment.

And as of today, she was a major in the Survey Corps.

* * *

 ** _AN: I know that this is simply the first chapter to a story. But please give it a chance, it does get better! I promise! This is my first Shingeki no Kyojin fic, so please be nice. And the only thing that is mine is Alena. It's setting is around the end of issue 70. I hope that helps!_**

 _ **Please let me know what you think! I promise that later chapters will be longer!**  
_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two:**

"And what made you want to transfer to the scouts?" Hanji Zoe asked each individual as she made her way down the row of transfers that were assembled in the courtyard of the Survey Corps headquarters that was located in between the Trost and Karanese Districts. Behind her, her second in command, Moblit Berner, took additional notes on what each person said.

"Change of heart," was an answer that was given several times. That was also the answer that Marlo Freudenberg had given her.

Others said things along the line of "the Survey Corps needed more warm bodies" or "we can finally win against the Titans!"

Hanji sighed to herself as she approached a set of identical twins at the end of the line. "What about the two of you?" she asked a bit weary of what answer she was going to get. "Jakob and Jayson Hendrich," said looking down at her notes on all the transfers that Erwin had given her.

The tall and lanky twins looked at each other before Jayson shrugged his shoulders at his brother signaling that he would talk. "We decided to join the Survey Corps because of a promise to our sister," he said.

"A promise?" Hanji asked, suddenly interested. This was something different.

"Yeah, a promise," Jakob said repeating what his brother had. "A promise to make sure that the major didn't do anything stupid and get herself killed."

"Hmph," came a voice from the right side of Jayson. Hanji's eyes darted to the young woman, who barely stood at the shoulder of the twins that Hanji was currently talking to. Hanji took a step towards the young woman, and before she asked any questions, she did a quick assessment of her. The young woman standing before her was the shortest of all the transfers. Yet Hanji easily could tell that she had an air about her that demanded respect – much like Levi commanded. Then there were her eyes.

Behind the hazel tint, Hanji could see that there was something else driving this young woman – something more than a promise…

She glanced down at her roster for the last name on her list.

Alena Vagner was this transfer's name.

Wait a second…she had heard that name before.

"Oh wow!" Hanji said a bit taken back, once she realized who she was talking to. "Your three are some of the Garrison's elite!"

"Or so we've been told," Alena said with a straight face as she looked up at Hanji. "But now we are soldiers in the Survey Corps."

"But why?" Hange then asked, even more confused about why one of the elite teams from the Garrison would ever want to join the Survey Corps.

"Because I am looking for something – something that I lost a long time ago. And I have a feeling that I will be able to find some of the answers here."

"And what was it that you lost?" Hanji asked with peeked curiosity.

"Myself."

* * *

"So how are they?" Levi asked as he approached her and Berner later that day as they stood on the edge of the training area where the new transfers were running 3DMG training on Titan dummies.

"They are an interesting lot," Hanji said watching the recruits.

"What makes you say that?" Levi asked as he took the notes that Berner had taken and began to flip through them.

"Most of them simply believe that we now have a fighting chance to beat the Titans, while others claim a change of heart. Then there are these three," Hanji said motioning towards the course.

Levi turned his attention to the group that was currently running drills – two lanky young men and a petite woman.

"Tsk," he mumbled. "What makes them so impressive, shitty glasses?"

"Just watch," Hanji excitedly said.

They watched as the two young men aimed for the Titan dummy's ankles – hitting both ankles at the same time. Then the young woman aimed right for the nap of the dummy's neck and easily sliced it before swinging back around in a circular motion – similar to a move that Levi would make – and hit it again for safe measure. All of this was in a matter of seconds.

"Against a dummy is one thing," Levi said thoroughly unimpressed. "Against a real Titan is another."

"Jayson and Jakob Hendrich – 3 kills each and 15 assists." Hanji said taking back the notes from Levi and reading from them. "Alena Vagner – 10 kills and 19 assists."

Levi glared at her.

"These three are the most experienced out of all the transfers. They were some of the Garrison's elite."

"Then why did they transfer?"

"The twins said it was for a promise to someone to make sure that Alena did not die, while she stated that it was to find herself."

Levi raised an eyebrow at Hanji then turned to look at the trio of transfers. He narrowed his eyes as he focused on the face of the young woman. "Find out for me exactly why this transfer said that she was looking for herself. Then as soon as you do, report it back to me."

Before Hanji could say anything else, Levi had turned on his heel and was making his way back to the castle. Whatever was bugging Levi would work itself out in time. It usually did. That much she had learned after all the time that they had worked together.

* * *

Wordlessly, Levi made his way back to his quarters with hundreds of thoughts running through his mind. Once there, he collapsed in his desk chair.

It was here in the solitude of his room that he could focus on one thing – his biggest regret. He turned his head back towards the training area that could be seen in the distance from his window. Slowly standing up from his chair, he moved towards the window. In the distance, he could make out the transfers who were getting their final orders of the day from Hanji. Out of all the transfers, Levi could easily pick out the one that he was searching for.

"Alena," he whispered as his eyes focused on the petite young woman. "What the hell happened to you?"

* * *

 ** _AN : This is my first Shingeki no Kyojin fic, so please be nice. And the only thing that is mine is Alena. This is simply an introductory chapter. I promise things will get better. It's setting is around the end of issue 70. I hope that helps!_**

 ** _Please let me know what you think!_**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three:**

Staring at the candle as the wax slowly dripped down the side, Levi couldn't help but let his mind wander back to his memories of the young woman who called herself Alena Vagner and how she had been a beacon of light in his dark world for a time…

* * *

 ** _15 years ago…_**

 ** _Capital district_**

The echo of shoes hitting the ground in a frantic run could be heard through out the underground of the capital. Running was common in the underground. Typically some of the thugs from one of the numerous gangs would be running through the streets.

Wanting to make sure that whoever was running wasn't going to be any trouble to him, Levi stood up from the steps of his home so that he could make a stand if need be. There was no chance that he would be giving up any of the precious territory that he had control over.

Yet what he saw was unexpected.

A young woman came stumbling around the corner of a building. Her paltry clothes were all in tatters – not from normal wear and tear, but instead from someone or something trying to rip them from her body. She crashed against the ground in a jumbled mess as she had turned back to see if anyone was following her. Levi watched as she lay against the ground for a moment before she struggled to get up on her own. Her attempts were in vain and Levi could tell that she was weak.

"Let me help," Levi said as he moved towards her and knelt down next to her. He held out a hand to her. The young woman looked up at him with tears streaming down her cheeks. Hesitantly she reached for his outstretched hand and allowed him to help her stand. Much to his surprise, Levi found that the young woman was just a tad shorter then he was.

Slowly Levi helped her to the steps of his home, as shouts of numerous men grew louder. He noticed that the louder the shouts were, the more that the young woman began to tremble in his arms.

What was going on?

"Oi!" a gruff voice said from behind him as Levi helped the young woman sit on the steps. "That girl there is ours!"

Narrowing his eyes, Levi turned around and saw a group of 6 men standing behind him – all of which were taller than he was. Honestly, were people ever going to learn not to cross him on his turf? "And what makes you think that any of you cretins deserve to have this young woman?" Levi asked as he approached the men.

"We take whatever we want from whomever we want," the gruff voiced man said. Obviously he was the head moron of the group.

"Is that so?" Levi asked turning to look at the young woman then turning to look back at gruff voice and his band of idiots. "Last time I heard, forcing someone to have sex is a crime."

"Why would you care? You're a criminal like us."

"I won't deny that," Levi coolly said as he moved towards the men. "Then again I don't force anyone to do anything they don't want to."

"That's high and mighty of ya, coming from a pip-squeak! Now we'll just be taking back what is ours." Gruff voice said as he placed a hand on Levi's shoulder to move him out of the way so that he could get to the scared young woman.

In a split second, Levi had cleanly cut gruff voice's arm from the wrist to the elbow with his dagger that he kept in the belt of his pants.

"What the fuck!" the guy cried out in pain as he stumbled back from Levi as the red blood oozed from his arm. "Keep the crazy bitch! She's just as crazy as you are!"

Levi stood there watching as the gang swiftly retreated as their bleeding leader did. He wanted to make sure that they were gone before turning around and facing the young woman.

"Ugh," he said looking down at the blood on his hand and knife from gruff voice. "Disgusting."

He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and began to clean off the blood from his knife and hand. "That's better," he said a few seconds later, once all the blood had been wiped away. That was when he turned to look at the young woman he had just defended. She was staring at him, wide-eyed.

"Those idiots shouldn't bother you anymore." Levi calmly said. "If they do, just come back and see me. I'll make sure they get more then a simple knife cut to the arm."

Still in a bit of shock, the young woman slowly nodded before trying to stand up. Yet even that was not going to happen. Weak on her feet from her escape and fall in front of Levi's home, the young woman tripped as she stood up.

Levi dashed forward and caught her in his arms before she hit the ground. "How about I help you home," he suggested.

Tears weld up in the young woman's eyes. "I don't have a home…" she softly said as she looked away from her rescuer.

Knowing that she would not make it long on her own on the streets of the underground before meeting up with others who would probably do more harm then good, Levi made a snap decision. "You do now," he said as he helped her stand back up before helping her up the stairs and into his home. It wasn't much to brag about, but what was in the underground?

"Now, first things first," Levi said once the door was shut and they were safely inside. "What is your name?"

"Alena," she softly said as he helped her to his couch, where she could sit down. Once she was seated, Levi made his way into the kitchen were he quickly set some water to boil. He returned a few seconds later.

"You're the thug, Levi, aren't you?" she asked as he entered the room once again.

"That I am," he answered as he stood in the door jam so he could hear the whistle of the boiling water. "Is that a problem?"

Alena shook her head no yet Levi could tell that she had more questions for him.

"Go on and ask," he said.

"If you are a thug, then why are you being nice towards me? You don't even know a thing about me."

"So what," he said shrugging his shoulders. "Just because I'm considered a low-life thug, doesn't mean that I don't care. If this is the state that you are in while dealing with the assholes we just encountered, then you won't make it long down here."

"You can tell that I'm not from here?"

Levi shook his head yes.

The water began to whistle from the kitchen, signaling that it was ready. Levi disappeared back into the kitchen and prepared two cups of tea.

"Now, drink this then you need to take a bath," he said handing Alena the cup of hot tea. She raised an eyebrow at him as she took the cup from his outstretched hand. He could tell that she was waiting from an explanation to the bath remark.

"I do not tolerate anything that is dirty. I keep everything spotless and I expect that it will stay that way. Am I clear?"

Alena nodded as she sipped her tea.

Levi withheld a smile as he sipped his tea as well. There was something about this young woman that Levi could not put his finger on, but he couldn't wait to try and find out what it was.

After finishing their tea, Levi showed Alena around his small home and suggested that until other arrangements could be made, that she could sleep on the couch. She thanked him once again for his kindness before leaving to go take a bath. While she was in the bath, Levi managed to dig up some women's clothes from a stash that he and some of his crew had taken a few days prior. They were a bit big, but they would have to do for now.

Once he had set the clean clothes out for her, he turned in for the night. And as he drifted off to sleep, he couldn't help but wonder was he doing the right thing? Perhaps the morning would bring him new insight on the entire ordeal.

As soon as he had managed to fall asleep, he was woken up to wonderful smells.

Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Levi allowed himself to wake up a bit more. What was this smell and where was it coming from? Getting out of bed and hastily dressing, Levi made his way into the main part of his home. What he saw when he entered the main room, floored him.

It was actually cleaner then when he had gone to bed last night, leaving Alena to sleep on the couch. The surfaces almost sparkled due to the fact that they were so clean.

Out of the kitchen walked Alena carrying two plates of food. "Good morning," she said with a smile as she set the plates down on the table. "I hope you don't mind. I prepared us something to eat. And don't worry, the kitchen is spotless."

Still speechless, Levi could only nod as he sat down at the table where Alena had placed a plate for him. The smell that coming from the plate was amazing. Looking down at what she had cooked for them, Levi couldn't help but wonder what it was.

"What is this?" he asked using his fork to move the food around a bit.

"It's a bit like goulash. But since meat is a rarity, I used what I could find and made something like a stew," she said as she took a bite of her own food.

Slowly, Levi lifted the fork to his mouth and tasted the concoction that Alena had prepared. Much to his surprise, it was good. He swallowed the first bite and allowed the warmth of the food to fill him. When was the last time he had enjoyed a meal such as this? Looking at Alena, who was sitting across from him with a smile on her face, he couldn't help but wonder why this girl was living in the underground.

"It's good," he said as he took another bite.

Alena did not say another word to him, yet kept the smile on her face as they finished their meal in silence.

After that first morning, Levi learned more about this young woman who had come to play a huge role in his life. While he never asked Alena her last name, he had learned a bit about her. She was from a village near Wall Maria to the south. While she was heading to cadet training when she was 13 years old, she had been attack and kidnapped by bandits. She had been taken to the capital district where she was going to be sold on the black market, yet she had managed to escape into the underground where she had been scrapping by on her own – all of this in the last 4 years.

Simply knowing that, Levi could tell that Alena was a lot stronger then she looked.

Perhaps that was one of the many reasons that Alena was slowly winning him over with her warmth. From making sure that the house was spotless and clean to never judging him by what he and his gang did during the day to even bringing a smile to his otherwise despondent face from time to time, Alena was making his world brighter.

And that was why after she had been living with him for so many months, he was ready to make his feelings known to her.

He watched from the doorway as she sat at the table and wrote in her journal. This journal had been on the one thing that she had brought with her the day that he had defended her all those months ago. He never asked what was in nor did he ever try to read it. After a few more minutes, she put down the pencil, closed the journal and looked up at him.

"You seem to be off in another world," she said with a smile on her face.

"Only when thinking about you," he said.

At those words, Alena blushed. That was when Levi took a chance. "I got something for you today," he said moving closer to her.

"What's that?" she asked.

Levi knelt down beside her. "Close your eyes," he said.

Alena did as he asked. And once her eyes were closed, Levi took ahold of her wrist and slipped a blue cord bracelet around it and hanging from the bracelet was a tiny star charm. When he had seen an old woman selling the bracelet a few days ago, he thought that it would be perfect for Alena. The bracelet had not been cheap and for once, it wasn't something that he had simply taken. He had happily paid the old woman what she wanted, plus a little more.

Besides this was for Alena and he wanted to do right by her.

"There," he said once the bracelet was secure around her wrist. "Open your eyes."

Alena's eyes slowly parted as she glanced down at the bracelet that Levi had placed around her wrist. Tears weld up in the corners of her eyes as she looked from the bracelet to Levi.

"Do you like it?" Levi asked a bit worried.

She nodded yes before wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. "It's beautiful," she said as she laid her head against his shoulder.

"It is beautiful just like you are," Levi said, pulling out of Alena's hug so that he could look at her face. He gently caressed her cheek with one of his hands, while the other was placed against her back so that he could still hold her close to him. As he wiped away the remnants of her tears, he couldn't help but smile. Taken back a bit at the sight of Levi smiling, Alena smiled back at him as a blush rose in her cheeks. Without hesitation, Levi leaned in and kissed Alena's lips. Alena responded to Levi's kiss not by pushing him away, but instead wrapping her arms around him and encouraging the kiss to go on.

Eventually breaking the kiss, Levi pulled back from Alena. "I promise that I am always going to protect you, Alena and eventually we will make our way to the surface together," he whispered as he cupped her face with his hands.

"I love you too, Levi," she whispered back to him, fully knowing what he was trying to tell her. He gently kissed her forehead before standing up. She looked up at him as he stood over her. He held a hand out to her to help her up out of the chair, which she gladly accepted. Once she was standing, Levi swept Alena into his arms and carried her to the bedroom.

And for a fleeting moment, life seemed to be perfect.

Yet all good things must come to an end – even if it was far too soon.

Almost two years had come and gone since Alena had stumbled into Levi's life. Slowly, Levi was stashing away money for them to be able to buy their way to the surface and then make their way from the capital district to another district, where they wouldn't have to pay to live on the surface. While he had never seen the surface that often, he knew that Alena longed to be back in the sunlight.

Then came the day that his world was shattered.

"LEVI!" came a scream and a cry for help.

Levi had been down the street taking care of a rival with some of his so called friends, when he head the frantic scream of Alena. He dropped the rival gang member that he had been about to punch for the fifth time and set off in a sprint towards home. Fear coursed through him as he continued to hear Alena's cries for him. The last time that he had heard her like this was the day that she had come into his life.

As he rounded the corner, he saw Alena struggling against two large men. She was frantic and hysterical in her fear. She cried out for him again once she saw him.

Seeing his beloved being dragged off caused Levi to go blind with rage. Yet out of the darkness of an alleyway, something hit him in the head from behind. Levi had never seen the blow coming thanks to the rage he was experiencing. The last image of Alena he ever saw was of her reaching for him and him not being able to get to her in time. And yet, just before he passed out he swore that he saw his "uncle" Kenny standing over him...

* * *

Levi sighed as he continued to watch the candle melt away as he remembered the bit of happiness that he had shared with Alena. While it had been an insignificant amount of time in the grand scale of things, he had actually been happy.

He had often wondered what had happened to her and who had exactly taken her. That last image of Alena crying out for him had haunted him just as much as all the unnecessary deaths of his teammates and friends at the hands of the Titans.

Perhaps he would be able to unravel the mystery of what had happened to Alena. Hopefully Hanji would be able to dig up something for him.

Standing up from the table, Levi moved towards the armoire where his clothes were. It was late enough; perhaps a few hours of sleep would do some good for his weary mind.

Yet before he could even open the armoire to take out his sleep clothes, there was a frantic knocking on his door.

Mumbling to himself about stupid brats, he opened the door. Much to his surprise, it was Hanji who was knocking at his door.

"What is it shitty glasses?" he asked a bit miffed that Hanji would be bothering him at this ungodly hour.

"I've found out why Alena Vagner is searching for herself!"

* * *

 _ **AN**_ _ **: And there we go! Hopefully this helps clear up any confusion about how Levi and Alena do know each other. Anyways, I'm using the age of 34 for Levi (since most people claim that as his age) and that would make Alena 32. Remember that this is my first Shingeki no Kyojin fic, so please be nice. And the only thing that is mine is Alena.**_

 _ **Please let me know what you think! I would love some reviews as I recover from knee surgery…**_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 

_A few hours ago…_

"So you two grew up with the major?" Hanji said as she sat across from the Hendrich twins during the evening meal.

"Something like that," Jayson said as he took a bite of his bread that had been served with the stew for that night.

"She and our older sister, Patty, were friends." Jakob said. "They entered cadet training right before we did. We all wanted to join the scouts right away, but Patty didn't. So instead we join the Garrison, where Patty was."

"Why not the Military Police if your sister was that scared?" Hanji asked, now intrigued by their story.

"Alena could have in a heart beat, she was one of the top cadets in her class. And so were we," Jakob said continuing. "But Patty wasn't."

"That's why they joined the Garrison then we joined them a few years later." Jayson added.

"Why would anyone give up their dreams for someone else?" Hanji then questioned.

Jayson and Jakob looked at each other before they both looked at Hanji. "It's not our place to tell her story, but just know that our sister Patty had saved Alena's life." Jakob said.

"And when Patty was killed during the Battle for Trost, her last plea was that we all join the scouts like we had wanted to from the start." Jayson added. "Along with making sure that Alena didn't do anything stupid before she found what she was missing."

With that being said, the twins stood up from the table and left an even more bewildered Hanji behind. Why were they being so cryptic? It was almost like they were hiding something about the major's past. Whatever it was, it made Hanji only want to know what it was. The twins had said that it was Alena's story to tell and not theirs, so who better to go ask then the source herself?

She scanned the mess hall for any sign of Alena Vagner. After a few seconds, Hanji spotted her in a far corner, eating by herself. She picked up her food and quickly made her way towards her. "Good evening!" Hanji happily said as she plopped down in the seat across from a bewildered looking Alena. "Mind if I sit here?"

Before Alena could respond, Hanji cut her off with a series of questions. "So how did your first day as a scout go? Do you like it better than the Garrison? What did you mean about finding yourself?"

A bit shocked by the sudden interrogation, Alena sighed as she set her spoon down. She narrowed her eyes at Hanji as she considered what she was going to say. Hanji was on pins and needles as she waited for whatever answers that Alena was going to give her.

"So far, the scouts are much better than the Garrison for the simple fact that everyone seems to be treated the same. My first day was fine. And what I meant about finding myself is that I cannot remember the first 22 years of my life. Only bits and pieces."

That was not the answer that Hanji was expecting, yet she was even more intrigued. "Why can't you remember anything?"

"What's with the all the questions?"

"It's just that I am curious by nature and I find you a mystery." Hanji said truthfully as she leaned forward on her elbows, awaiting more details from Alena. "What do you remember about your past?"

"I remember the never ending horror of the sex trafficking business that runs rampant within the walls of various districts. I remember being treated like I was lower then dirt each night for a different buyer. Then I remember escaping to freedom with Patty Hendrich who had been a slave like myself. After our escape, we made our way to her home, where I was welcomed into the family with no questions asked. Shortly there after we enlisted in cadet training even though we both were much older then the other recruits. We didn't care. All we wanted to do was protect this world not only from the Titans, but from the other monsters that lurked within the walls."

"That still doesn't answer why you can't remember your past?"

"When you are beat over and over again after being forcibly raped night after night, you tend to push the good memories from your mind and only focus on staying alive. One day I woke up after I had been roughed up the night before and I couldn't even remember my own name. Patty had to help me. She told me what little she knew about my past and it was then that she decided it was time for us to escape."

Hanji just sat there wide-eyed, trying to think of something to say. But nothing came to her.

"So that is why I am searching for myself. I know that there has to be someone out there who knows who I am, even if it is the smallest detail."

"By why the scouts and not the military police or something?"

"I could have joined them. But Patty's scores weren't in the top 10 during training, so the MPs were out of the question. Besides she had saved my life and now I was going to pay her back, by not leaving her side once we became soldiers. That was why we joined the Garrison at first. Then her dying wish was her myself and her twin brothers to join to scouts and fulfill our own dreams about ridding the world of the Titans."

Hanji sat there, speechless once again. She knew that every solider had various stories as to why they joined the military to fight the Titans – from loosing a family member to because it was the right thing to do to because it was the only thing left for them. Yet never had she ever heard anyone say it was to find themselves. That just made Alena Vagner all the more interesting…

* * *

"…after she finished her story, she got up and just left me sitting there. What could I say to her? I'm sorry wouldn't cut it." Hanji said finishing the story as she sipped on her tea that she had brought for herself and Levi since she knew that her explanation was going to take a while.

A sudden shatter of glass was heard. She looked up at Levi, who was sitting across from her, starring in horror at the table. Beneath his hand were the shattered remains of his cup, while tea dripped down his hand onto the table. "Levi?" she questioned. "Are you alright?"

"She was a sex slave?" he quietly asked, not making eye contact with Hange.

"It seems that way."

Hanji watched as Levi formed his hand into a fist and slammed it down on the table, in what seemed like a defeat somehow. All of this was curious to Hanji – from the way that Levi had requested that she find out whatever she could about Alena Vagner to the story that Alena had told Hanji about her past to even the Captain's reaction to what she had found out.

It almost seemed as if Levi knew her…

That was when something dawned on her.

It was the last bit of information that Alena Vagner had told her about her past.

Not only had she and Patty Hendrich escaped captivity, but they had also taken Alena's young daughter with them. And while Alena knew for certainty that her daughter's father was not one of the men who had abused her night after night, she had no idea who he was.

Except for one thing.

Her daughter's eyes were the same color as her father's were.

And that color was grey – just like Levi's.

There were too many similarities. Perhaps all they both need would be a little prodding to get them to come together. And if her hypothesis was correct, then Alena Vagner might be able to recover some of her lost memories! Let the experiment begin!

Hanji reached out and placed a hand against Levi's slumped shoulder. She pushed against him until he looked up at her. "It never hurts to at least talk to her," she softly said.

Taken back a bit, Levi looked at Hanji with a mixture of surprise and disbelief on his face. "I…I don't think I can, Hanji. I let her down once before and I'll be damned if I do it again."

"You'll be letting down more than just yourself if you don't," she said as she stood up and cleared away the broken glass from the table and left Levi alone to think, knowing that the Captain would make the best choice possible.

And hopefully it would be the right choice.

* * *

 _ **AN**_ _ **: This is my first Shingeki no Kyojin fic, so please be nice. And the only thing that is mine is Alena. I had toyed with the idea about a child for a while, but it just made so much sense! I promise things will get better. It's setting is around the end of issue 70. I hope that helps!**_

 _ **Please let me know what you think!**_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

A week had passed by since Levi had learned bits and pieces of what had happened to the woman he loved so long ago. It infuriated him to no end, knowing that she had been defiled night after night for the pleasures of the fat bastards who lived in the interior. It upset Levi even more that because of those fat bastards, Alena knew nothing of her past – and that included the time that they had shared together.

The 'what ifs' had started the night that Hanji had told him what she had learned…what if he had not gotten hit from behind? What if he had been stronger to save her? What if she never regained any of her memories?

What if…

What if…

What if…

All the 'what ifs' that were rolling around inside of his head were maddening to the point that Levi was loosing sleep over them. Even with only getting his typical 3 or so hours of sleep a night, loosing even that little amount of sleep over his thoughts was not a good thing. The most notable reason why it wasn't good was that it made Levi extra grouchy towards everyone and most people could tell that something was bothering the captain. His tongue-lashings towards his subordinates were worse. His attitude was worse. Even the scowl on his face seemed worse. Yet despite all of this, no one dared to approach the diminutive captain who had no regrets – as far as most of the scouts knew – to question him about what was going on.

"Jaeger! What the fuck do you call the maneuver?" Levi yelled as he stood next to the obstacle course where his squad was currently running drills against Titan dummies. "Same goes for you Blouse!"

The members of the Levi squad stood wearily at the end of the course, recovering from the last drill that their commanding officer had barked at them to work on.

"What the hell crawled up the captain's butt and died?" Connie asked low enough to where only his other squad members and not the captain heard what he said. Jean and Sasha snickered at the comment while the others didn't say a word.

"Do you want to have to run more drills?" Armin hissed towards him.

Before Connie could answer, they heard Levi yelling at them once again. "DO THE FUCKING DRILL AGAIN. YOU BRATS BETTER GET IT CORRECT OR WE WILL BE OUT HERE UNTIL DARK!"

The squad let out a collective sigh before beginning to run the drill over again.

* * *

Hanji waited next to the door, just inside the mess hall for Levi and his squad to enter for the evening meal. She had been watching him for the last few days and knew that something was bothering him – perhaps it was a factor in her experiment that she was currently running that she referred to in secret as 'Levi's lost love life'. And while most people had qualms about striking up a casual conversation with the captain, Hange had no problem in doing so, especially so that she could gather data.

After a few more minutes of waiting, slowly the members of the Levi squad began to trickle into the mess hall. Most of them looked like they had been run ragged. The last to enter was Levi.

"What did you do to those kids?" Hanji uttered as she moved to stand next to Levi, who she had to admit was looking ragged himself. The bags under his eyes were larger and darker then normal. And she had heard the rumblings from other scouts that the captain's attitude of late had been grouchier then normal.

"Made them run their drills perfectly. Do you have a problem with that?" he snapped at her as he picked up a bowl filled with whatever was being served for dinner. Honestly he didn't care what was being served tonight, just as long as it was warm and good tasting. He moved to an empty table and sat down.

"Taking out your frustrations on your squad," Hanji said as she followed him and sat in the seat across from him.

"Not at all," he answered as he stirred the stew like concoction in his bowl before taking a bite. "I'm just making sure that they haven't grown lazy. Besides I haven't seen them drill often since I formed this new squad. I need to know what they are exactly capable of."

"Don't you have a pretty good idea about that after recusing Eren from Reiss?"

"Still it never hurts to know," he said as he took a bite of his dinner. "Who else is there that is willing…"

Levi stopped midway through his sentence once the taste of bite that he had just taken of the stew had traveled past his taste buds and filled him with a familiar warmth. This wasn't the normal stew that was served to the scout regiment. No, this stew was different, yet vaguely familiar – a bit like seeing someone that you knew long ago after being separated for so long…

That was when it dawned on him.

"Who else is willing to do what?" Hanji asked as she ate her dinner as well.

"Never mind that," Levi hastily said. "Who prepared tonight's dinner?"

"Why?" Hanji asked suddenly curious.

Levi simply glared at her. He was not up for Hanji's 20 questions. And from his glare, Hanji got the point. "I believe it was some of the transfers," she replied. "Is it not up to snuff?"

Levi didn't say a word as he took another bite of the stew. He knew that Hanji wasn't stupid and that she would eventually put two and two together about his past with the transfer, Alena Vagner, if she hadn't already done so. No use helping her out anymore. "It's different that's all," he said continuing to eat, trying not to look at Hanji anymore. He wasn't in the mood for her antics.

When Levi wasn't looking at her, Hanji couldn't help but smile a bit. Date received and recorded – she knew that Alena Vagner had prepared the dinner tonight. Levi must have recognized her cooking. Now time for more data gathering.

But she was too late. Before she was able to say a word, Levi had picked up his bowl, pushed the chair back that he had been sitting on then stood up from the table. Without saying anything, he began to walk away from Hanji.

"Hey! Where are you going?" she called after him.

"To my quarters," he replied. "I have work to do and I'll finish my dinner at my desk."

Hanji huffed to herself as Levi disappeared out of the mess hall.

This data gathering was going to be harder then she thought.

* * *

Several hours had come and gone since Levi abruptly left the mess hall with his dinner. While he had told Hanji that he had paperwork to see to, that was only partly true – he just was not in the mood to deal with her incessant questioning. What he really wanted to do was enjoy his dinner in peace and quiet and savor the memories of his past with Alena as he ate the stew that he was certain she had prepared for dinner.

Once he was finished with his stew, he actually did finish the paperwork that needed to be done. Yet that was hours ago. Yet now his mind was running through the 'what ifs' again. And now he had a new one that he was questioning: 'what if he and Alena had never been separated?'

He had to admit to himself that was a good 'what if'. Would they have eventually left the underground of the Capital for a better life? Or would they still be stuck in the underground?

Sighing to himself, he knew that there was no way of knowing what the answer was. He was just going to have to accept what fate has given him and make the best of it. Part of that was going to have to figure out a way to approach Alena. Perhaps going up to one of the battlements of the castle would give him some fresh air and a new perspective on things. And seeing that it was so late, hopefully nobody would bother him.

* * *

Sighing to herself as she looked out at the numerous stars in the sky, Alena couldn't help but question why fate had been so cruel to her. Why did she have no clue to who her daughter's father was? Why did she not even remember her own parents? And the last question she had was who was the young man that haunts her dreams – the young man with grey eyes that were like steel.

Hopefully with a bit more time and patience, her memories would return. Memories of her childhood had recently come back, yet it was all jumbled.

It was maddening!

A pair of footsteps walking out onto the battlement caught her attention. She quickly turned to see who had walked out side.

Standing in the doorway of the battlement was Captain Levi. "I figured that most people who be in bed by now," he said from across the battlement.

In the moonlight, Alena shrugged her shoulders. "I couldn't sleep, sir," she replied.

With a bit of hesitation, Levi moved towards where she was standing against the edge of the battlement. Why was fate being so cruel to him? His beloved was so close to him, yet still so far. He didn't want to scare her off with too many questions. But a few would do – just enough to let her know that she could trust him. "You can drop the sir," he said. "You are Alena Vagner, a transfer from the Garrison regiment?"

A bit taken back, Alena turned to look at the solider known as humanity's strongest. She had heard numerous stories about how Captain Levi was towards others, how he was unapproachable at times and even a bit of a neat freak. Yet none of that seemed true to her.

Perhaps it was simply because it was late at night and neither of them could sleep. "Yes, I am Alena Vagner and I did recently transfer. Now I have a question. If I drop the 'sir', then what should I call you, sir?"

"My name would do," he replied. "Just don't think you can do it all the time."

Alena smiled at him as she nodded in agreement before turning to look back at the sky. Levi had to suppress the urge not to reach out and pull her into his arms before kissing her deeply on the lips. He was knocked out of his thoughts by a sudden squeal of excitement from Alena.

"Oh look!" she said pointing to the sky, still slightly squealing. "A shooting star!"

Levi looked at where she was pointing and sure enough it was a shooting star racing across the night sky. "You know if you wish upon a falling star that your dreams will come true," he said moving a bit closer to Alena.

She turned to look at him once again – not with a smile on her face, but a look of confusion. Someone had told her that before, yet she couldn't remember who it was. She knew the memory was there and so close to the surface. And yet, she couldn't remember a damn thing – except for a pair of steel grey eyes.

The same steel grey eyes that were watching her.

The same steel grey eyes of Captain Levi, humanity's strongest solider.

"I have heard that before," she quickly said. "I just don't remember where. Anyways, I am going to try to sleep once again. It was nice talking with you, Cap…I mean Levi."

"Hopefully sleep finds you," he said before she turned and quickly made her way across the battlement and disappeared into the castle.

Once she was gone, Levi stood out gazing at the stars for a few more minutes before accepting defeat. While the fresh air had helped him a bit, it had also presented him with many other dilemmas – the biggest dilemma being the fact that he was going to have to talk one on one with Alena soon.

* * *

Quickly and quietly, Alena slipped into the room that she shared with another female recruit. She did not want to wake up Ester, who would begin questioning her about stupid stuff. Instead Alena simply wanted to sleep and hopefully things would work out on their own.

Yet she doubted that.

As she got into bed, she could still feel her heart pounding just as hard as it had been out on the battlement. When she had taken notice of Levi's eye color, her mind and heart had been sent into a tizzy.

Could Levi actually be Natasha's father?

Perhaps…

But how many others in the walled world that the lived in, could possibly have those same color of eyes? No telling what that number could be.

And yet something was tugging at her heart telling her that Levi was indeed the father of her precious daughter.

* * *

 **AN** **: Whew! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! And usual, the typical disclaimers apply. Let me know what you think!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"I normally wouldn't disagree with you, Erwin, but this time I do," Levi said as he watched the various members of the survey corps go about their daily tasks – training, horse back riding, preparing for the upcoming expedition in a few weeks time – all from the upper story window of Edwin's office of their headquarters.

Erwin sat at his desk going over paperwork that had been piling up while he had been in the capital attending to other business. He was listening to Levi's arguments about who should be the new squad leader, yet he was not going to change his mind.

"What about Dieter," Levi suggested. "He's gone on a few expeditions. He is more than capable. A bit hardheaded, but capable."

"He doesn't follow orders. Even you have had to correct him too many times." Erwin responded without looking up from the papers he was reading over. "Any other suggestions?"

Levi turned from the window and leaned against the wall as he crossed his arms against his chest. "I guess not. So why did you choose a newbie as the squad leader to replace Mike?"

"I had read Hanji's reports about Vagner and when I watched her on the training course this morning running drills with the Hendrich twins, she reminded me of you. I can see why Pixis had been hesitant about wanting to let her go in the first place. Its not often that the Garrison gets soldiers like her."

Levi sighed to himself. He didn't want Alena to be in harms way if he could help it, but that wasn't going to happen. Not when Erwin had his mind made up. "So who is in her squad?" he asked, not wanting to let Erwin on to the fact that he had a past with the new squad leader.

"Mainly transfers. Of course I put the Hendrich twins with her since they already work so well with her. Then I was thinking about Freudenberg, along with a few of the other newbies. Perhaps then it would lessen the tension among the transfers and the other scouts that I have been hearing is starting to emerge."

"There have been a few disagreements, but nothing too serious. Just brats being brats," Levi nonchalantly said. He then went on to another subject that was bugging him about the leadership of the survey corps. "So if you are assigning Vagner to Mike's position, then why are you also assigning Franz a squadron a well?"

"Just to make sure there is enough leadership in the field." Edwin said, finally looking up from the papers. "Just in case something happens."

Just remember you are our commander, with or without an arm," Levi added, before he turned and walked out of the room.

* * *

Over the next few days, all the members of the scout regiment were training with purpose for their upcoming mission beyond the wall that was scheduled to take place in a fortnight. Every member was tasked with learning their position and purpose in the long-distance enemy scouting formation that Commander Erwin had devised – that included all the transfers as well. Some of the transfers grumbled about having to learn the technique, while others didn't. Those that did complain were met with swift glares from their commanding officers and fellow scouts.

Ever since being assigned to the role of squad leader, Alena had been floating on cloud nine. Sure she had been given leadership roles when she had been in the Garrison regiment, but nothing like the responsibility that she now had. Not only were the twins under her direct command, but several other new transfers into the scouts were as well. Commander Erwin had explained to her a few days ago that he felt that by having a squad made up of transfers would be a good idea. And the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. She had noticed that some of the more hardnosed scout members were upset about the transfers from other regiments coming in. And Erwin made it clear to her that it was up to her to make sure that there were no hard feelings between any of the scout members.

She could do that. She knew that she could.

While most of the scouts in her squad showed no hard feelings to being in the "newbie" squad as some had referred to them as, there was just one who did – Marlo Freudenberg. She had noticed that his attitude since he had been placed in her squad was more along the lines of stuck up and too good for her squad. He was the only former MP member among all Garrison members. Perhaps that was where the attitude came from since he thought that since he had been at the top of his cadet class he was better then all of them.

So damn what.

She had been at the top of her cadet class and chose the Garrison Regiment.

So had the twins.

In fact, she had heard that most of the graduates from the southern district of the 104th corps chose the scouts to begin with.

Besides, Marlo wasn't even that good at the 3DMG course as the others in her squad. He just thought he was. Guess it comes with being a lazy MP. So how the hell did he manage to get in the top ten? No telling…

No wonder he had wanted to transfer.

Just like it had been the past few days, Marlo was running his mouth more then he was practicing his maneuvering skills on the training course. The twins had run the course perfectly, which was to be expected. Hans and Ava, two other transfers under her command who had been improving each day had run it just as well on their third attempt of the day. Then it was Flynn and Marlo's turn. While Flynn was performing all his maneuvers and strikes with ease, Marlo was having a bit of trouble making deep enough strikes against the Titan dummies.

"Did your all too brief time in the MPs make you lazy, Marlo?" Alena demanded as she stood at the end of the training course as Marlo and Flynn finished their training run.

"No ma'am," Marlo said as he landed.

"Then what the hell is your problem? You're missing easy strikes! How are you going to survive if you encounter an actual Titan outside the walls?" she said continuing to lay into him.

Marlo didn't say a single word. He honestly didn't have an answer for her. He knew that if he said what he actually wanted to then he would probably be sent to see either Captain Levi or Commander Erwin for insubordination. He didn't deserve to be on the newbie squad. He had helped out Captain Levi and Squad Leader Hanji before. So why had he been placed on the newbie squad of all places? Perhaps if he made it through this first expedition beyond the walls he could be moved to a different squad…yeah, that was a thought! So that meant he just needed to get his act together and prove that he actually knew what he was doing.

"Run the drill again Marlo. And if you slack off, everyone will run theirs again as well. Get it right or pay the price. And this time, I will be following in your shadow. If I have to make cuts to the nape of the dummies behind you, game over. Understand?"

Marlo nodded.

"Good," Alena said, as she set off for the start of the course. "Let's get started."

The rest of the squad waited at the end of the course as Alena and Marlo moved back through the trees and back to the start of the course. Once there, Alena gave Marlo a head start. She wanted to see just how well he did on his own against the dummies without a partner.

From the start, Alena was amazed at the difference in the way Marlo was maneuvering. He was hitting every Titan dummy and cutting deeply as well. What was going on?

Yet then again, these dummies were a bit on the easy side and they did get more difficult. So she would just have to wait and see.

Hit after hit came and went.

And Marlo made each and every one of them.

Then came one of the final ones, which happened to be one of the trickiest. Alena hung back a bit so she could see what Marlo did when it came to this Titan dummy.

On the first pass, Marlo missed it. He then circled back around to try again and missed it a second and third time. Seeing that he had missed it a total of three times, Alena swooped in for the cut and just before she cut the nape, Marlo nailed her from behind. She was sent in a tailspin into a nearby tree where she then crumpled into a heap on the ground.

She had not seen Marlo coming around for a fourth pass nor had he been paying attention.

The twins, along with the rest of the squad, rushed over to where Marlo was kneeling next to an unconscious Alena laid on the ground. "You idiot!" Jakob snapped at Marlo. "Pay attention to what's going on around you!"

Jayson knelt down and carefully gathered Alena in his arms, before he and Jakob took off for the infirmary back at headquarters.

"Don't worry," Flynn said, grasping Marlo's shoulder as they watched the twins disappear with their squad leader. "I'm she is going to be alright. I've heard stories about her."

"Stories?" Marlo questioned.

"Yup," Flynn said.

"Me too," Hans added.

Marlo looked over at Ava, who was nodding as well.

"What sort of stories?" he asked.

"Just that the major is a certified bad ass," Flynn said. "That's why she left the Garrison Regiment for the Scouts. Commander Pixis didn't want to let her go, but she was going to no matter what."

"It was because she killed 5 Titans with one blow in Trost." Ava added.

"No that wasn't it!" Hans argued, "It was because…."

Marlo sighed as he listened to the reasons why their squad leader was considered a "bad ass" as they put it, while he hoped that she was simply all right.

* * *

 _A gentle touch against her cheek to wake her up from the young man with the steel grey eyes…no the grey eyes of Levi…_

"… _Alena, I love you…" the young man whispered before leaning over and kissing her deeply on the lips as she kissed him back before the memory faded as another one replaced it._

 _This time, she could feel the wetness of her tears trickling down her cheeks as she sat curled up with her arms wrapped around herself, cradling her stomach. Yet even though she was crying, she wasn't sad – she was happy._

" _I promise that your daddy and I will take care of you," she whispered as she placed her hands against her stomach and smiled. But her happiness was short lived as the door to her home was kicked in and the man that haunted her nightmares stood in the doorway._

" _Well look at what we have here," he said, with a grin forming on his snake like face. "Just who I've been looking for."_

 _His henchmen stormed into the home, grabbing her by the arms and dragging her away. The entire time, she was kicking and screaming for Levi to come and save her, just like he did the first time they met. And hopefully he would. This time there was more at stake…_

* * *

"Levi!" Alena cried out without knowing it as she sat straight up in bed as wave of nausea took over, yet she found that a gentle hand was guiding her back towards her pillow to lie down. She tried to focus her eyes on who was guiding her, but she was too dizzy to do so at the moment.

"Thank you," she whispered as she closed her eyes and lost consciousness once again.

Next to her bedside, Levi sat and waited once Alena lost consciousness again. Ever since the twins had returned to headquarters with an unconscious Alena, he had not left her bedside. He had even volunteered to monitor her and make sure her vitals were normal and that nothing happened to her. He was also to alert Hanji once she was fully conscious. He had been told that she might slip in and out of consciousness, like she just had done.

So for now he would wait.

And hopefully she would remember more from her past like it was obvious that she was.

* * *

The warm morning sun felt inviting against her face as Alena's eyes slowly parted. She allowed her eyes a second to adjust to the light of the room. How'd she end up in her room? The last thing she remembered was 3DMG training with her squad.

What happened?

Pushing up into a sitting position, she noticed that sitting next to her bed was a sleeping figure, slumped over in a chair. She slowly reached out towards the slumped figure and brushed some of the hair out of their face. She gasped softly.

"Captain Levi?" she whispered.

Upon hearing his named whispered, Levi began to stir. He lazily stretched then opened his grey steel eyes and met her hazel ones. "I see we are feeling better," he said, moving to stand up. "I should go get Hanji. She'll want to know you are awake."

Alena nodded in agreement as Levi moved to stand up. But before he could stand completely up, Alena stopped him. "Wait. I need to ask you something," she softly said.

Without question, Levi sat back down and waited for Alena's question – silently hoping it had to do with their shared past. He was not going to tell her that she had cried out his name last night. That might freak her out a bit. Instead he would keep that to himself. "So out with it," he said almost in a demand.

"Why are you here?" she asked. "Taking care of me?"

Moment of truth, Levi thought: Truth or Lie? Lie would be easier but the truth would set you free…. truth it was then!

"Because a long time ago, I promised to protect you from the evils of the world and I wasn't strong enough then to protect you," he softly said as he leaned closer to her before he placed a hand gently against the side of her cheek. "Do you remember?"

Alena bit her bottom lip slightly as she slowly nodded her head slightly as tears weld up in the corners of her eyes as memories swam inside her head. She did remember Levi and the love that they shared with the end result being their precious daughter. She might not remember all that they did, but she did remember him and his steel grey eyes. And she remembered that she loved him and that he loved her. She even remembered that he saved her from thugs in the capital underground.

Tears slowly trickled down her cheeks as she nodded yes. Relief washed over Levi as he wiped her tears away as he brought his other hand up to cup the other side of her face before leaning in and kissing her deeply on the lips.

* * *

 _ **AN:**_ _ **YAYAYAYAYA she sorta remembers him! I promise that this isn't the end of the story! He still needs to meet his daughter!**_

 _ **Anyways, let me know what you think! =)**_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Alena felt herself meld against Levi's strong body as she wrapped herself in his arms as their kiss deepened. As their kiss continued, the floodgate of memories broke and washed over Alena. While they weren't complete memories, it was just enough to make her emotional. Feelings that she had long suppressed were surging to the surface as tears began to roll down her cheeks once again.

Feeling the warmth of Alena's fresh tears against his lips, Levi broke their kiss and looked at his beloved's face in worry. "What is it?" he calmly questioned, as he cupped her face and continued to wipe her tears from her eyes as he had moved from the chair next to her bed where he had been sitting to sitting on the edge of her bed next to her.

"I'm remembering things," she whispered as she reached out and traced the sharp features of his face with her finger. "Things and feelings that I thought I'd never remember again. It's all a bit overwhelming."

Levi said nothing as he wiped away the remnants of her tears before gathering her in his arms and holding her close to him until he could feel her calm down a bit and her tears dried up. After a few minutes, he spoke again. "Here's what we are going to do," he said. "You are going to rest and relax a bit more since you did loose consciousness yesterday. While you are doing that, I will let Hanji know that you have woken up and she will want to make sure that you don't have some major brain injury or something like that. Then after that, I will return with some tea."

"What about working with your squad? We are about to leave on the expedition beyond the walls soon. Even I want to be out with my squad…"

"The brats have cleaning detail today. That will take them most of the day since their cleaning is lamentable. As for you being out with your squad that is to be determined after you see Hanji. But for now, let me know what you want them to do and I will tell them."

Alena laughed slightly at Levi's comment about his squad cleaning. From her jumbled memories and from his reputation, she knew that Levi was a neat freak. "Just have my squad practice their riding skills or something with their horses. We don't need any more accidents on the training course."

"No we don't," Levi said as he stood up from the edge of Alena's bed. "Now it is time for you to rest."

He helped her get comfortable under her covers then he leaned over and kissed her forehead before he left her newly acquired private quarters due to her new position as squad leader. Alena watched Levi leave with a smile on her face. When was the last time that she had truly been this happy besides when her daughter Natasha was around?

She honestly couldn't remember…

* * *

"So she is remembering things now?"

"That's what she told me," Levi said as he and Hanji walked down the hallway towards Alena's quarters. "She said it's a bit overwhelming."

The previous night, Levi had finally admitted to Hanji that he had known Alena a long time ago and had loved her as well. Hanji was a bit shocked that the captain actually admitted to being in love, but when she saw how he watched over Alena while she was unconscious, making sure that nothing happened to her – she began to rethink her previous misconception about Levi never being in love. In fact, he was still in love. This was a side of Levi that nobody ever saw. But out of anyone in the scouts, she trusted Levi and she knew that Levi trusted her almost as much as he trusted Erwin.

"I bet it is." Hanji said, knocking softly on Alena's door and waiting for Alena to say 'enter' before she and Levi entered the room. "Good morning!" Hanji happily said to Alena who was sitting up in her bed. It had been a bit since Levi had left her. He had gone to make sure that his squad was busy cleaning the way that they should while Alena's squad was working with their horses.

"Good morning," Alena replied.

"The captain tells me that some of your memories are returning." Hanji said, beginning to examine Alena's head for any injures, which she found none. "Well it the good news is that there are no head injuries!"

"That's good," Levi mumbled off to the side. Alena looked at him then back a Hanji.

"But the bad thing is that when the furlough starts in a few days, I don't want you going very far from base in case some of your memories begin to surface again. This is all a precaution since we don't know what all happens to you during that time. I simply want to monitor you, that is all." Hanji said.

Alena sighed and nodded. That wasn't what she wanted to hear. She had plans for the furlough that she was going to have to change. Sensing that Alena was getting a bit frustrated, Levi spoke up. "It's that all shitty glasses?" he asked in his normal Levi attitude. "Does she need rest? More tea? Can she go back to bossing her squad around?"

"Rest for the remainder of today, then during the furlough no extensive traveling. Oh and it might be a good idea if she talked about her memories with you, since you two knew each other previously," Hanji said, directing her remarks towards Levi. He nodded in agreement.

"Thank you, Hanji." Alena softly said.

"No problem," Hanji said, turning to leave. She smiled as she passed Levi, she couldn't help but wink at him – while Levi simply glared at her.

Once Hanji was gone, Levi moved towards Alena's bed and sat on the edge once more. "How about I make us some tea and we talk some more?" he suggested.

She nodded in agreement. "Tea sounds wonderful."

"I'll be right back," he said, moving to stand up. But Alena seized his wrist. He turned to look at her and before he knew it her lips were smashed against his. Without hesitation, Levi kissed her deeply and passionately, leaving both of them breathless once they parted.

"I'll be here waiting," she said with a smile on her face as she let go of his wrist after their kiss.

Levi allowed himself to smile at her as he stood up and she couldn't help but continue to smile as he stole one last quick kiss and quickly left the room to prepare them some tea.

* * *

" _Ok close your eyes," Alena happily said from the doorway of the bedroom where she had disappeared only moments ago._

 _Levi eyed her suspiciously from where he sat at the table, but did as she asked. Once she could tell that he had done as she had requested, she made her way back into the room and placed a neatly wrapped box in brown paper in front of him on the table. "Ok open them!" she said clapping her hands together._

" _What's this?" Levi asked, looking at the box in front of him with an eyebrow raised then at Alena._

" _It's a present, silly!" Alena said, sitting down in a chair next to his._

" _I know that, but why did you get me a gift?"_

" _Because I wanted to. Is that a good enough reason?" she countered._

 _Levi was about to say something, but was cut off._

" _Levi, where I come from people give gifts to each other because they care about each other much like the bracelet you gave me," Alena replied as she reached over and took a hold of his hand that was lying on the table. "Please just open my gift. I couldn't wait until your birthday. It is too far away."_

 _With a squeeze of his hand, Levi let go of Alena's hand so that he could open his gift. His eyes grew wide as he opened the box. "Wow, this is amazing," he said as he gingerly took out a white and blue tea pot from the box and set it on the table before reaching back in for the matching cups. "It's perfect Alena. Thank you!" he said leaning over and giving her a quick kiss on the lips before turning his attention back to his new tea set._

 _Alena couldn't help but smile as she watched Levi's reaction to her gift. She had been waiting for months for the perfect tea set to appear in the underground and as soon as it had, she had spent the little money that she had saved up from the side jobs that she had done here and there to buy it for Levi. While she could condone his lifestyle for some things when it came to living in the underground, it didn't mean that it had to be for everything._

 _Yet her perfect gift suddenly came crashing down as Levi picked up one of the teacups to look at it and the handle broke off from the side and the cup came crashing down against the table where it shattered into a hundred pieces. Alena's eyes widen in horror as tears began to fill her the corners of them. Levi turned to look at her as she bit back her lip to fight the urge to cry; yet a tear did manage to escape and roll down her cheek._

" _I'm sorry!" she suddenly wailed. "It's ruined!"_

" _Shh," Levi said, soothingly to her as he rubbed her arm to calm her down. "No it's not ruined. See look."_

 _She watched as Levi picked up another teacup around the rim of the cup from the back and act like he was taking a sip from the front. "See! That works just as well. Now how about a cup of tea, Alena…"_

* * *

"Alena?" Levi asked as he set a cup of tea down in front of her.

"Hun? Oh sorry…" she softly said as she wrapped her hands around the warm cup of tea. She sighed as she starred into the brew. Why were her memories coming back now when they had been gone for so long? Was it because she was with whom her heart longed to be with?

Perhaps.

Was it because she knew that she could actually trust Levi?

Perhaps.

Or was it something more?

Who knew? At least now she wouldn't be on this journey on her own any longer.

Levi watched her for a moment while she was off in her own little world. Perhaps some of the memories that Alena believed that she had "lost" forever were beginning to surface. Who knows? But because of this, Alena was now one of Hanji's experiments like Eren was much to Levi's displeasure. The good thing was that Hanji really couldn't poke and prod Alena – more like observe and document. But still. Hanji was going to essentially be digging into his past. And he didn't like that. Yet seeing how the last 12, almost 13 years had changed the woman he loved so much, Levi was willing to do anything to help her – even if it was giving up some of his comfort. He couldn't loose Alena again. He simply couldn't.

He needed her just as much as she needed him. He would never admit that to anyone – **ever**. He had already told Hanji too much with admitting that he loved Alena. Yet he had his reasons why - he had to make sure that Alena was well taken care of while her memories were returning and Hanji could do just that.

"Everything all right?" he asked as he took a sip of his tea as he held his teacup around rim of the cup.

She smiled slightly as she took a slip of her own tea, thinking about the memory that she had just had. "I bought you a tea set before, right?" she asked as she set her cup down.

"You did. I was my favorite set until some brats broke it. Why do you ask?"

"Just making sure that the memory was real," she said looking down at her lap and shrugging her shoulders a bit. "That's all."

"I'm sure your memories all real," Levi reassured her as he tilted her face back up so that he could see her face. "Maybe a bit jumbled, that's all. That's why Hanji suggested to you and I both that you talk about your memories."

She shrugged her shoulders again and pulled away from Levi. She turned her chair so that she could stare out her bedroom window. He could tell then that there was something else that was bugging Alena – something that she wasn't telling him. He didn't want to be forceful with her like he would normally be when trying to get information out of someone or even condescending – no, both of those ways might cause her to shut down again and start suppressing the memories that were trying to resurface.

The only other thing he thought that he could do was ask.

What harm was there in that?

"There's something else bothering you," Levi said as he reached out and turned her chair around so she could face him. Alena slowly looked up at Levi and before he could ask what was wrong, he saw the tears rolling down her face. He sat there frozen to his chair, wondering what was going on.

"During our weeklong furlough before the expedition, I was supposed to go visit Natasha, our daughter. But because of my memories coming back like they are, Hanji said I can't go far from base. Now I'm scared that I won't make it back from the expedition and I won't ever be able to introduce you to her." Alena said spilling out her heart as soon as she had looked up at Levi. She sniffled and wiped her eyes on the back of her arm as she waited for Levi's response to what she had just told him.

Levi sat there stunned. A million thoughts were running through his mind. Had he heard correctly? Had Alena said "our daughter"? Was he really a father? Was he cut out to be a father?

"…I…we…have a daughter?" he stammered after a few seconds.

Alena smiled through her tears and nodded yes.

* * *

 _ **AN**_ _ **: So how was his reaction? Let me know! Oh and I went back and changed the way I spelled Hanji's name...I like this spelling better and it is used in more places.  
**_

 _ **Regular disclaimers apply! Look for another update in a few days and I would love to know what you think about the story so far! Reviews make me smile!**_


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8:**

Still unable to find the right words to express his current emotions, the only thing that Levi could do was reach out and trace a finger down the side of Alena's face to brush away the remaining tears. "A daughter?" Levi questioned again, still shocked after a few more seconds. He had been able to finally say a few words.

Alena nodded yes once again as she moved her chair closer to his. She reached out and took ahold of the hand that was close to her face and brought it down to the table where his other lay. She held both of her hands over his and squeezed them softly. "Would you like me to tell you about her?" she asked looking into his eyes. All Levi could do was nod. He was still finding it hard to say more then two or three words at a time.

"Her name is Natasha. She is almost 12 years old. She has light brown hair like mine with but streaks of black in it and steel grey eyes that match yours." Alena calmly said as she moved one of her hands to from where it was holding Levi's hands to against his cheek. "Yet her temperament matches yours. She doesn't put up with anything from anyone. It has to always be her way, unless the directions come from either myself or the Hendrichs who take care of her when I am not around."

"You're certain that she is mine?"

"That was one of the things I did remember was knowing that before I was taken by the First Interior Squad, that I was pregnant. In fact I had found the day that I was taken. Their leader seemed to be thrilled that I was pregnant for some reason."

Levi suddenly stood up and turned away from Alena. He balled his fists up in anger as he began to pace her room. Alena could sense that something she had said upset Levi. She watched as Levi slammed his fist against the wall in frustration as he still had his back turned towards her.

Anger coursed through every muscle in Levi's body. He was furious. Could his uncle sink any lower then he already had? Now add sex trafficking on top of all the other atrocious crimes against humanity that Kenny Ackerman had committed during his lifetime. And what made it worse was that Alena had been a victim of his crimes.

He could hear movement behind him as Alena stood up from the table and made her way towards him. Still, he didn't move to look at her. He didn't want her to see his anger, his frustration – ultimately his failure.

He felt Alena's slender arms wrap around him as she moved behind him. She laid her head against his firm back then hugged him tightly. Levi slouched against the wall as the anger that was still coursing through his veins was slowly fading away and he allowed himself to melt into Alena's warm embrace. Despite the horrors that Alena had endured, both known and unknown to him, here she was. Still breathing, still beautiful and still his to cherish. And just like the past, she still possessed the warmth that had won over his cold heart so long ago.

"Despite everything that happened to me, I knew you never stopped loving me." Alena whispered against his back. "Deep in my heart once my memories disappeared, I knew that somewhere in this cruel world of ours was a man with the same eyes that my daughter had. And I knew that this man also held the key to some of my past."

Levi stood up from his slouching position against the wall and turned so that Alena was standing in front of him. She still had her arms wrapped around his body, but now her face was pressed against his chest as she was bent slightly over. Levi adjusted her arms so that they were around his neck and that she was standing straight up with her head resting on his shoulder before wrapping his arms tightly around her.

"You're right - I never stopped loving you," he whispered, pressing a kiss against her forehead. Alena smiled and sighed happily as her world was starting to become brighter after so much darkness.

"And I swear that I will be with you every step of the way for now on while we figure out what is going on with your memories." Levi said with such determination in his voice, that it surprised Alena, yet also comforted her. It comforted her because she knew that Levi truly loved her. But what about their daughter? Yet her fears were quickly abated when she heard Levi's next statement. "Forget what Hanji said about no traveling. You and I are going to see our daughter this weekend."

"Really?" Alena asked in surprise as she lifted her head from Levi's shoulder and looked at him with a smile on her face. Levi nodded as a small smile appeared on his face as well.

Alena squealed in happiness as she wrapped her arms back around Levi and began peppering his face with kisses. She was so happy. Not only was she going to be able to see her daughter like she had wanted, but Natasha was finally going to meet her father. Alena had been dreaming of this day for the last 12 years.

Levi finally managed to calm down Alena by kissing her lips. He held the kiss for a moment, and then pulled back. "Are we calm now?" he asked.

She nodded.

"Good. Now Hanji isn't going to like the fact that we aren't listening to her suggestions about your recovery, but too damn bad. But we will make a concession for her though. We have two days until the furlough begins. You will take it easy those two days as well as the first day of the furlough. Then we will leave on the second day. And we won't be gone the entire time. It won't be as long as I would like, but I think I can sustain not having a furious Hanji that way. Are you in agreement with that?" Levi suggested.

Alena nodded again with her smile still on her face before kissing him one last time. A knocking on the door followed quickly by the door swinging open interrupted their kiss. They turned to see who had rudely interrupted them. Standing in the doorway were the twins with looks of shock on their faces. Never in their wildest dreams would they have suspected that Alena would ever be kissing anyone in her private quarters, let alone Captain Levi - humanity's strongest solider.

"Oi brats! Ever hear of waiting until someone answers?" Levi snapped at them as he still held Alena in his arms, who was growing a brighter shade of red each minute that she and Levi stood like that in front of the twins.

"We…we just didn't expect anyone to be with the major!" Jayson stumbled out eventually getting over his initial shock.

"We were just coming to check on her." Jakob added as he took in the glare that Levi was giving them both. "We swear, Captain Levi, we meant no harm!"

"Go talk with Hanji," Alena calmly said to Levi. "While I explain things to the twins."

Levi didn't say a word as he stepped away from Alena and towards the twins, who quickly moved to the side for the Captain. "Learn some fucking manners," he mumbled as he passed them. The twins did not say a single word to him. They knew the stories about what Captain could do to a Titan and they were fearful of what he could do to them, even though they were several centimeters taller than he was.

Once Levi was down the hall and out of earshot, the twins quickly entered the room and shut the door behind them.

"What the hell was that?" Jayson asked as soon as the door was shut. "We thought you were looking for Natasha's father?"

"And I found him." Alena said with a smile.

"You mean to tell us that humanity's strongest is the father of your daughter?" Jakob asked a bit shocked.

Alena nodded yes.

"And did you tell him about her?" Jayson inquired next.

"Of course I did!" Alena said moving back over to sit down at the table that was in her room. The twins followed suit. "He is going to come with us for our visit. Well we will be leaving a day later then I would like and returning sooner, but that's only because of the hit I took during training. Just to make sure that nothing really is wrong. So the two of you would be getting there before us."

The twins looked at each other as a moment of silence passed between them, almost as if they were silently agreeing to something. "We can wait and travel with you and the Captain." Jakob said. "The only reason we were going home was because you were. Ever since Patty died, mom is fearful that we will all loose our lives."

"And we don't like seeing her upset." Jayson added.

Alena agreed with them about that. She hated seeing Momma Hendrich upset whenever they were leave to return to their Garrison post. And now it was only going to be worse because they were in the scouts. Then something else dawned on her. "You two better keep your damn mouths shut about the Captain and myself," she said, glaring at them both.

"We promise that we will!" Jakob said.

"Yeah we will! We both know how angry you can get and we've heard the stories about Captain Levi." Jayson added.

"Good," Alena said pushing her chair back and standing up from the table as she heard bells ringing. "I believe that it's dinner time. I've been in this room long enough. Let's go get something to eat."

* * *

"You know he has cleaning detail today," Levi said as he walked up on Hanji conducting some kind of experiment on Eren in the headquarters courtyard. Probably trying to get him to transform into a Titan in a different manner or something like that.

"But this is for the greater good of humanity!" Hanji happily said as she shoved the needle in Eren's arm.

Levi watched as the smile from Hanji's face fell as nothing happened to Eren as she filled the syringe full of blood. "Sorry Hanji," Eren mumbled as she removed the needle and bandaged the area where she had withdrawn the blood.

"It's alright Eren," she said.

"Now back to cleaning detail! And it better be spotless!" Levi demanded, wanting Eren gone so that he could talk to Hanji about the situation with Alena in private.

"Yes sir!" Eren quickly said before scampering back into headquarters.

Hanji watched him leave before turning on Levi. "You don't have to be so harsh on everyone."

"And I'm not." Levi said. "Let them have more trips beyond the walls and then I might tone it down a bit."

"I seriously doubt that. Anyways, why aren't you with Alena?"

"The Hendrich twins came to see her, so I thought that I would give her some time with them. Explain a few things to them as well. Plus I needed to talk to you."

"About?"

"Alena is not going to be staying here during the furlough. She and I have some personal matters to attend to away from headquarters. She will rest an additional day then we will be leaving."

"So I take it that you are going to meet your daughter?"

Levi glared at Hanji. "How the hell do you know that?"

"Alena told me that she had a daughter with steel grey eyes and that one of things she couldn't remember was who her daughter's father was except for the fact that her daughter's eyes were the same as her father's. You have steel grey eyes and once I saw your reaction to what I told you about her past, I put two and two together. I've been watching the interactions between the two of you since then – even before you admitted that you love her to me."

Levi huffed. He should have known better then to put anything past Hanji. The woman was a human data collector. Of course she would have been able to tell something was going on between him and Alena before he admitted anything to her. "This stays between us. Got it shitty glasses?"

"Of course," Hanji said with a smile returning to her face.

The evening bells signaled that it was dinnertime. "Come on," Hanji said, pulling Levi with her. "You can't survive on tea alone. Let's get dinner."

Levi gave into Hanji's nagging. Thankfully she hadn't been upset that he was taking Alena away from headquarters for the furlough. The least he could do was get something to eat. Then if Alena hadn't of come down for dinner, he'd bring something up for her and spend the rest of the night with her. That sounded perfect to him.

* * *

"So what are you going to make us do on our last day before furlough?" Jakob asked as he took a bite of break then dunked the rest in the soup that they had been served for dinner.

"Not sure yet," Alena said shrugging her shoulders as she slowly ate her soup. "There is a command meeting in the morning that I have to attend. So who knows after that."

"How about wind sprints of death with all our gear?" Jayson suggested. "That always got our Garrison squad into shape."

"How about no." Jakob retorted. "Going against Titans are going to have us sprinting enough."

"But we are on horseback." Jayson shot back.

Alena couldn't help but smile at the twins bickering. Some things never change.

"Do these two ever shut up?" Levi asked setting his bowl down on the table as he sat down in the empty chair next to Alena and across from the twins. Immediately the bickering between the twins stopped.

"Rarely has anyone ever made them do that. Perhaps I should have them placed on your squad? Got anyone you want to trade them for?" Alena asked.

"I can think of a few," Levi said as he turned his eyes to look around the room before they landed on the table where most of his squad was sitting down eating together. While his new squad was beginning to trust each other more, there were still a few trust issues. Yet those mainly dealt with Eren. Hopefully over time, things would change.

The sooner the better.

Not much was said the rest of dinner by Levi, instead he merely observed and listened to what was going on around him. The other members of Alena's squad did join them for dinner. All of them were thankful that Alena had not been seriously injured after the hit she had sustained from Marlo during training. No one seemed more relived then Marlo was.

After a bit the scouts began to disperse to different areas for the rest of the evening. Some went back to quarters and called it an early night, while others sat outside and talked. Some ever began a card game in the corner of the mess hall. It was when most of the mess hall was cleared that Alena decided to call it a night. She still felt a bit weak from the hit and another good night's sleep should do the trick.

"You know that you still should be monitored," Levi said as they walked to the upper floors were the command, such as the Captain and squad leaders, had their own quarters.

Alena looked up at him and simply smiled. "Or are you just saying that?"

Levi didn't say a single word as he stopped in front of her door. While he admitted that he had never stopped loving her, he wasn't sure how she would react to him asking her to stay the night with him. He didn't even want to take things to the next level – no he simply wanted to hold her in his arms. That was all.

He turned to look at her and as usual she had a smile on her face. "Let me get cleaned up because I am in desperate need of a shower. Then I will come to your quarters." Alena said, almost reading his mind.

He nodded in agreement and watched as she entered her room before turning towards his. While he had to admit that he was mentally drained from all that he had learned that day, he knew that he could use a good night's sleep. And hopefully for once, he would get what he wanted – a good night's sleep without nightmares.

* * *

Alena looked both ways down the hallways to see if anyone was coming before she knocked softly on the door to Levi's quarters. While she was thrilled beyond belief that she and Levi were reunited, she was a bit hesitant about displaying their relationship for everyone to know about and comment on. During dinner, she noticed that several members of the scouts were talking among themselves about the fact that Levi was sitting with her and her squad. She might not of been able to hear them, but she could tell it in their eyes. She knew that she shouldn't care, because she was happy – but she did. Perhaps it was the fact that she had been treated like such filth for so long that she only wanted people to look at her in a good light. That was why she strived to be a good solider. Maybe then some of her horrific past could be erased.

Yet as the door to Levi's quarters opened and she saw him standing in the doorway, she knew that there were good parts of her past as well. And the man standing in front of her was a perfect example of that. Levi had changed into a pair of soft sleep pants and a loose t-shirt that hung perfectly on his tone body.

"Took you long enough," he said as he moved to the side and allowed Alena to enter his quarters. He softly shut the door then locked it with the sliding bolt.

"I thought that I needed to at least make my bed and straighten up a little before I came down here."

"The way to my heart." Levi said as he made his way back over to his desk and sat down. Alena walked over to the front of his desk and looked down at the papers that were strewn across the desk top – various reports and diagrams were the most among the papers. She could only imagine the amount of paperwork that Commander Erwin had to deal with. "I'm sorry but I have to deal with these reports," Levi said as he was reading over one of the reports. "But I've pulled the bed back for you so you can get settled if you want."

Alena nodded her thanks as she moved away from Levi's desk and took in the rest of his quarters. His quarters were a lot like hers – basic furniture included a bed, armoire, and a bookshelf. The only difference between hers and his was that Levi had a desk while she had a table. No big deal. She walked over to his bookshelf and looked over the various books that he had stacked along the shelves – mainly notebooks filled with old reports and tactics. She wondered how Levi had ended up in the scouts.

Moving away from the bookshelf, she made her way to his bed where she sat down and folded her legs underneath her. She watched Levi work at his desk for a moment as she began to think about the memories that she already had return to her.

She remembered that Levi had saved her from some thugs in the underground, even though he was a thug himself. She remembered that he loved her and she loved him. And she remembered how she was taken from him. Oh and she remembered giving Levi his tea set. There were a few other jumbled memories, but those were the main ones. Hopefully more memories returned…

Stretching and yawning, she lay down against the bed and curled up with one of Levi's pillows. She smiled to herself as she inhaled a scent that she was familiar with – cleaning products mixed with a hint of tea leaves.

Levi.

As she closed her eyes, she allowed the scent to take over her senses. It was comforting, almost like home. She quickly drifted off to sleep.

After a few minutes of silence, Levi glanced up from the report that he was reading. He couldn't help but smile slightly at the scene in front of him. Alena was soundly sleeping on his bed with her legs tangled up in the sheets and her arms wrapped tightly around one of his pillows. His eyes traveled both down her tone legs that were clad in a pair of sleep shorts and the small amount of her flat stomach that peeked out from underneath the t-shirt that she had put on for bed. He couldn't count the number of nights that he had dreamt or even wished that this would happen…that Alena would be back in his life, back in his arms.

And now it was happening.

Had all of the fighting and all of the loss that he had endured since her kidnapping been worth it? Who was to exactly say? Every single one of those deaths still weighed heavily on his heart. Yet perhaps now some mending could begin. Now he also had an even bigger reason to fight the Titans as well. Not only would he fight to rid the world of the Titans to avenge the deaths of his friends and fellow scout members, but he would also be fighting to protect Alena and their daughter.

Setting down the report, Levi stood up from his desk and walked over to the bed, where he carefully untangled the sheets from Alena before covering her up with them. As he did, Alena sleepily reached out and took a hold of his wrist. "Come to bed…" she muttered, pulling him towards the bed and towards her.

"I will soon," he whispered, kissing her forehead. "I'm almost done with the reports."

"Nooo…" she said still half asleep. "You need sleep. I need sleep."

Sighing, Levi gave into the insistences of the half sleeping Alena. He stepped away from the bed, blew out the candle on the desk and then made his way back over to the bed. Slowly he slipped into the bed next to Alena's warm body. As he lay down on the bed, Alena moved over and allowed Levi more room, before she curled up against his shoulder and flung an arm across his chest.

In the dark, Levi couldn't tell if she was awake and doing this or still half asleep. Either way, it didn't matter to him. It had been a long time since a woman had lay in his arms like this and even longer since he had been intimate with one – the last being Alena. Levi wrapped one arm around Alena's shoulders and ran his fingers through her still damp hair from her shower.

"I love you," Alena whispered in the dark.

"I love you, too." Levi whispered back as he kissed the top of her head. "I didn't mean to wake you up."

"It's alright," she said moving her fingers against the muscles of his chest that could be felt underneath his sleep shirt. "Besides there is no place else that I'd rather be right now. I know that I am safe in your arms."

"Always."

Alena yawned and signed happily as she closed her eyes in the dark. The steady beating of Levi's heart was like a lullaby that was lulling her to sleep.

After a few more minutes, Levi heard the soft, steady breathing of Alena. Knowing that she was back asleep, he closed his eyes and allowed sleep to take over.

Yes, perhaps he would get what he wanted.

A good night's sleep.

* * *

 _ **AN: Whew! This chapter is a record for more! It's basically two chapters in one. I just couldn't stop! Hopefully I haven't made Levi too OOC – I just feel that he would be a very private person who would only want to express his feelings to the person he loved. That's why he's a bit different when it is just him and Alena.**_

 _ **Anyways, let me know what ya'll think!**_


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9:**

Not one to usually sleep much, Levi was in a bit of a shock when he awoke the next morning to the sun barely rising over the horizon just outside his bedroom window. He never slept this late. So now the question was just how long had he slept? Oh well, it didn't matter that much to him. What really mattered was who was still curled tightly against his chest, soundly sleeping.

Levi smiled to himself as he gingerly ran his fingers through Alena's soft hair. And as he did so, he began to think. He had seen her on the training field and he had to admit that she was good, very good. Yet with all the training that she had undergone which had strengthened and toned her body, there were parts of Alena that were still soft and feminine – the first being her hair. He had always loved her long light brown hair and was happy that she had kept it long, yet always pulled it back during training in either a braid of some kind or a loose ponytail. And while her hair was the only part he "soft part" that had been able to touch and the the other "soft" places he had in mind would just have to wait for now. He had waited this long for her, so what was a little bit longer going to hurt? Besides, if it were up to him, he would ask Alena to marry him that day and within the week they would be husband and wife – just like he had wanted for so long.

But for now he would wait and sleeping for longer amounts of time would be worth it if he were able to wake up with Alena in his arms every morning. And he would gladly sleep more if the nightmares of those he had lost didn't haunt him the previous night unlike so many times in the past – just as long as Alena was in his arms. That was one of the reasons why he didn't like sleep much – the nightmares of his past.

In his arms, Alena began to stir as she woke up, which brought Levi's musings to an end as he turned his attention to her. As she was slowly waking up, Levi gently ran his hand up and down her back.

"Can I wake up to this every morning?" she softly asked after a few moments as she moved her head so she could look up at Levi as she still lay against his chest. He didn't say a single word in response, but instead he leaned forward and kissed her lips softly.

"Oh a kiss before brushing my teeth!" Alena said as she sat up in bed after the kiss. "You definitely love me then!"

"That I do," he said running his hand down her shoulder and arm. He was still fighting the urge not to push their relationship further. They hadn't been back together but a day, but it had been so long since she had been with him in bed. He leaned forward and kissed her again. "As much as I hate to have to get up this morning and not be able to have you in my arms for longer, there is planning to do in regards to our expedition coming up."

Alena sighed. The only good thing was that they had a week off starting the next day. No scouting regiment stuff to deal with, instead they could just focus on themselves. "So am I going to have to be monitored tonight as well?" she asked with a sly smile on her face as she maneuvered her body so that she could get out of bed around Levi, who was still stretched out across his bed.

"Perhaps," was all the answer she received. Yet she got the hint as she read the expression on Levi's face – ' _of course'_ was what he meant.

* * *

"I've made one adjustment to the placing of squads for the next expedition," Erwin said as he sat at the head of the conference table in his office. Around the table sat Levi, Hanji, Alena and Franz – the four-squad commanders. "Alena, I am moving your squadron into the center column. You will ride with the command squadron, given that your squad is one of the smallest. Behind you will be Levi's squad."

"Yes, sir," Alena said before turning to look at Levi who was sitting directly across from her. She swore that Levi had something to do with this. He went to Erwin about her location because he didn't want her to be on the outer fringes of the formation incase of a Titan attack – some place where he couldn't protect her. Dammit. She could protect herself! She could feel her anger rising.

Yet Levi sat there stunned for a moment. Not only was he relieved that Alena's squad would be closer to his, but he was confused on why Erwin had done this. Even the look on Alena's face expressed the idea that she thought he had something to do with this – when that was the furthest thing from the truth.

"Excuse me," Levi questioned. "Why put a bunch of green transfers with command?"

"First off, Alena's squad is the smallest of any squad outside of special operations. Secondly, she and the Hendrich twins have elite training – may it be from the Garrison, but it's elite training nonetheless."

Levi's eyes met Alena's as Erwin finished explaining other details. Hopefully she understood why her squadron had been relocated and that he had nothing to do with it. Yet, even after hearing the commander's explanation, Alena still wasn't sure about the reasoning why her squadron had been moved.

* * *

After being dismissed from the command meeting, Alena headed down to where her squad was already assembled near the stables. She had sent instructions to them through the twins that they needed to continue working with their horses. While most of her squad were able riders, there were a few who were still having problems.

Once Alena had joined them, most of the day was spend going over their new roles within the long-distance enemy scouting formation along with other basic final things before their furlough began. Nothing too time consuming or taxing on their last day before a break. Simply a few things to think about before everyone went their own ways for a few days. Besides, Alena was still nursing a headache from the hit from Marlo. The headache would come and go, so Alena felt that she'd better take it easy or else make things worse, which might lead to Levi changing his mind about them going to see Natasha for the simple fact that her head hurt.

"Now that's my good boy," Alena said as she brushed down her chestnut colored horse, Max after she had taken him out for a quick ride that afternoon once she had dismissed her squad. The horse nudged her shoulder as Alena continued to brush him down. She smiled.

"So this is where you've been hiding all day," Levi said as he stood in the doorway of the stables and watched Alena as she continued to brush Max down. He had found out from the twins where she was.

"Don't you have a squad to boss around?" she asked without looking at him.

Sensing that something was bugging her, Levi slowly made his way out of the doorway and towards Alena. Once he was standing next to her, he placed one of his hands against the one of hers that was brushing her horse. "What is wrong?" he calmly asked.

"Don't think for one minute that you can use your rank over me just to make sure that I am protected! I'm still not sure why Commander Erwin moved my squad, but I'm pretty certain that you had something to do with it!" she practically hissed at him.

Levi raised an eyebrow at her. "How could I have convinced him of moving your squad without explaining my reasons why?" he countered. "My personal life is my own and not for everyone in the scouts to know about. It's enough having Hanji know! Besides I've read the reports about you from the Garrison regiment and you've earned your rank on your own and I'm not going to take that from you."

Alena jerked her hand away from where his was still holding it and glared at him. "Promise?" she questioned.

"Promise," he said taking back ahold of her hand and squeezing it tightly. "Besides, I came out here to see if you wanted to join me for a walk. I just want to get away from headquarters for a bit."

She nodded in agreement. Levi let go of her hand for a moment, while she finished up with her horse. "Where were you thinking of walking to?" she asked as she set down the brush she had been using on Max and stepped out of his stable slot.

"I know just the place," Levi said as he reached for her hand once again. Alena smiled as he interlocked their fingers and led her out of the stable.

* * *

After about 10 minutes of walking through the woods near headquarters, Levi departed from the path and went deeper into the woods, with Alena right behind him. She never questioned him about where he was taking her, she simply followed.

"This is where I wanted to take you," he said as he walked into a clearing deep in the woods. He pulled Alena into the sunlight with him. Alena's eyes took in the clearing. It wasn't too big, yet there were wildflowers growing everywhere and there were even some large rocks that you could sit against and stare up at the sky as the clouds passed overhead. Even the small creek that was near headquarters could be heard from a distance.

It was perfect.

Levi led her further into the clearing before he sat down against one of the large rocks and pulled Alena down in his arms. "How did you find this place?" she asked as she pressed her back against his chest as she looked up at the sky. Overhead, two birds flew by.

"I was wandering through the woods one afternoon and I stumbled upon this clearing. I found that if I need to think, I come here. Plus it's a far better cry then where I had lived most of my life." Levi said as his arms encircled Alena's waist and held her close to him.

He sighed. This was how life should be – with loved ones. Not putting your life on the line, day after day. In all honesty, he hated the title "Humanity's Strongest"…how could he be the strongest if he couldn't save the ones he loved?

He had lost so many friends during his time as a member of the scouting regiment. And how many more would he loose before it was all said and done?

"So I've been wondering, how the thug Levi became known as Captain Levi of the Scouts? You know, 'Humanity's Strongest'?" Alena asked as she went from sitting against Levi's chest to laying her head against his now outstretched legs as she stretched out across the ground of the clearing. This way she could see Levi's face better.

"Tsk," Levi responded. "I loathe that nickname."

"Well you are the strongest," Alena said smiling up at him. "You give people hope that someday these damn Titans will be destroyed and we can all be free of these damn walls."

"You sound like Eren Jaeger – wanting to be free of the walls."

She shrugged her shoulders. "So now tell me, how did you get into the scouts?"

Levi sighed. "Commander Erwin arrested myself and two of my friends – Farlan Church and Isabel Magnolia – and essentially blackmailed us into joining the scouts or he would hand us over to the Military Police. Well my friends and I had been hired to kill Erwin, but in the end, I learned that he had known all along about the plot against him."

"So if he knew, then why'd he let you stay?"

"He had simply used us to throw off the man who had hired us. The other reason was my fighting skills were outstanding in his opinion. Yet in the end, I still lost my friends. I blamed myself for their deaths, for not being there for them. Yet in all reality it was the Titans who were to blame. When I accepted that, he asked me to stay in the scouts. Besides being in the scouts, I am able to live above ground and I can go beyond the walls. I at least have some sense of freedom."

"I have to agree that it is a far better cry then the capital underground." Alena said, squinting in the afternoon sun as she looked up at Levi. "How long ago was this?"

"About 6 years ago."

"So 844?"

Levi nodded.

"That was a year after I left the cadets with Patty for the Garrison regiment. The twins joined use two years later."

"So why did you join the military if you had Natasha to worry about?"

"I joined because of her. I wanted her to be proud of whom I was instead of who I was in the past. While I couldn't remember much prior to her being born, I still remembered all that happened afterwards. I not only wanted to fight to protect her future, but I also wanted to end the abuses that were going on in the military. And the only way to do that was to work my way up somehow. The twins and I wanted to join the survey corps right away, but Patty was too scared. And the military police were out of the question because she hadn't made the top 10 in our class. So that left the Garrison."

"If I had only known…" Levi said brushing a loose hair that had fallen out of Alena's braid out of her face. "If I had only known that you were alive and that we had a daughter together, I would have been by your side a lot sooner."

"Such is life," she said. "The past is the past. We can't let it dictate who we are now. Yes, I have regrets from what of my past I can remember. But then again, there are things I don't regret. I don't regret falling in love with a thug from the Capital underground. I don't regret Natasha. And I don't regret listening to my gut when I made up my mind about transferring to the Scouts. Everything happens for a reason."

Without a single word, Levi leaned down and kissed Alena deeply on the lips. She was right. There were things in his past that he regretted. Yet there were things that he didn't as well. And one of them was falling in love with a young woman who stumbled into his life. She was also right on another point – everything did happen for a reason.

Perhaps with them being reunited, there was something larger at play. Something else was coming. Good or bad – who knew? But whatever it was, Levi swore to himself that he would stay by Alena's side for whatever came their way.

* * *

After spending a while longer in the clearing, along with several long kisses, Levi and Alena made their way back to headquarters in time for the evening meal. They noticed that several corps members had already left to go into Trost for their furlough or even to visit friend and family in other districts.

They quickly ate their evening meal before retiring for the night.

And like the previous night, Alena returned to her quarters where she would shower before going to Levi's quarters – always making sure that the hallway was clear before knocking on his door. She was still a bit weary about people knowing her business.

She, like Levi, was a private person.

"So any paper work to finish tonight?" she asked as Levi let her into his quarters. He shook his head no as he approached her and placed his hands on her hips as he pulled her close to him.

"I figured that we would get another good night's sleep," he said.

"That sounds wonderful," she said, yawning slightly. "Besides I've been having headaches since the collision."

Levi looked at her with concern written on his face. Why hadn't she told him sooner about the headaches? Should he go get Hanji? "Sleep it is then," he said leading her over to the bed. Without hesitation, she crawled into the pulled back bed and snuggled with one of the pillows until Levi crawled in next to her a moment later. And like the previous night, she curled up tight against his shoulder with one hand resting on his chest. He wrapped an arm around her to hold her close to him throughout the night. Within moments, Alena was fast asleep.

As he lay there in bed, waiting for sleep to take over, he couldn't help but think. What had he done right to be given a second chance at so many things?

He had been given a second chance at life thanks to the survey corps.

He had been given a second chance at love.

He had been given a second chance at happiness.

Deep in his heart, he hoped that his life, his happiness and his love would all be around for a long time to come.

* * *

 _ **AN: More feels! Next chapter: Levi meets his daughter!**_

 _ **Send me some love and leave a review please! =)**_


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10:**

The following day, Levi made sure that Alena took things easy. The mention of the headaches that night before already had him on edge – he worried that she had sustained a harder blow with her injury then previously thought by Hanji. Perhaps she had a concussion or something. He was tempted to postpone their trip to see Natasha if Alena mentioned anything else about a headache. Yet seeing the excitement in Alena's eyes as the day continued made him rethink those plans.

Alena was excited about the fact that Natasha's dream was going to come true the next day – she was going to meet her father.

So he kept his worries to himself. Besides, he too was excited about meeting his daughter. But he wouldn't admit to it since he did have a reputation to keep in the eyes of the public. When it came to Alena on the other hand – that was a different matter. With her, he let his emotions show.

When Alena had first told him about Natasha a few days ago, so many emotions surged through him – anger, resentment and even curiosity. Anger because his chance for a real family had been stolen from him. Resentment because he had not been able to watch his own flesh and blood grow up and experience things that he was never able to do where he grew up. And curiosity because he wondered what his daughter was like – sure he had been told about her personality and what she looked like, but what things was he not told?

Yet with all these emotions, a new emotion had taken over the closer the day came for him to meet her.

Excitement.

Not the kind of excitement that Alena had. No, the excitement that Levi was experiencing was more a nervous excitement – the excitement of the unknown.

As the day wore on, his excitement only grew. And even though several members of his special operations squad had stayed behind for the furlough, he never let his excitement show to them when he had seen them at various times during the day. Hell, they didn't even know that their captain had a daughter. In fact, Levi had kept them and Erwin in the dark about many things recently.

It was his personal life and not the scouts. While he offered his beating heart for humanity, he was still only human. Situations change.

Yes, he would still defend humanity against the Titans until the last beat of his heart.

But now he had other matters to tend to. He knew several soldiers who were loyal to whatever regiment that they had joined along with having a family. And now he joined their ranks.

He and Alena had talked about this issue the other day while they were in the forest clearing – how were they going to proceed as both a couple and members of the scouting regiment. The agreement they came up with was simple – behind closed doors, they were a couple; yet when it came to matters dealing with the scouts, like training or expeditions, their feelings would be set aside for the sake of humanity. Hopefully this agreement would work. Not only to keep his and Alena's private life private, but also to avoid showing favoritism.

Only time would tell.

* * *

Bright and early the next day, Alena was giddy as they rode north from the scouting headquarters towards the Stohess District. It had taken her longer then normal to fall asleep the night before and Levi had even threatened to kick her out of the bed if she couldn't stop tossing and turning. After that, she had settled down. But now, her excitement was evident to everyone. The twins could not believe the difference that had occurred in Alena since her memories had begun to come back to her since her injury a few days ago. This was a completely different side that they had never seen in her before.

Alena was happy.

"Just a few hours to go!" she cheerfully said as she, the twins and Levi stopped to rest and water their horses for a bit.

"Who are you? And what did you do with Alena?" Jakob jokingly asked.

Levi, still a bit wary about displaying any type of affection around others, stood by and listened. It wasn't like he didn't trust the Hendrich twins – it was the fact that he didn't know them. Besides the twins had walked in on a kiss that was being shared by him and Alena, so it wasn't like they didn't know that the captain and major was a couple.

"I agree." Jayson added. "You're never this cheerful in the mornings or ever on the trek home. So why now?"

"I have my reasons," Alena said with the smile still on her face as she stood from her sitting position on the ground then made her way towards her horse Max, to make sure that he was ready to ride again. Everyone else followed suit.

As they began their journey once again, Levi couldn't help but worry a bit. What if Natasha didn't believe that he was her father? What if she resented him? Or worse, what if she didn't want to have anything to do with him? While the idea of being a father was still a new notion, Levi couldn't help but worry about these things. He knew that he wanted a future with Alena – he had wanted one with her when they had been together in the underground and he wanted it once again since they had been reunited. And the fact that they had a daughter only made him want it more.

"Don't worry," Alena said as she moved Max closer to Noir, Levi's black stallion.

Levi looked over at her as they continued to follow in the direction that the twins were riding in. "How can you tell I'm worried about something?"

"Facial expressions. You don't like to share too many emotions, but over the last few days I've slowly remembered that I had always been able to tell your feelings by your face."

"That's true," Levi said as the memories of his past with Alena drifted into his thoughts. "You were the only one who has ever been able to do that."

Alena smiled before asking, "So what is it that you are worried about?"

"Natasha."

"Why?"

"Just her reaction to meeting me."

Alena continued to smile. "Levi, since she could talk, she has wanted one thing in life – to meet her father. Eventually I explained to her that a lot of bad things had happened to me, which caused me to loose my memories after she was born, including the identity of her father. She understood as well as a child could. Yet I always knew that she wanted to know who her father was. That's why I am so excited about the two of you meeting. Not only does it mean that my memories are returning, but also Natasha can know who her father is. Plus there is something you should know."

"What?" Levi asked, a little worried.

"She is determined to join the scouting regiment. She has wanted to for the longest time. She would hear stories from the other children in the village about how the strongest and bravest soldiers were the scouts. She would also hear stories about humanity's strongest solider and how he could take down any number of Titans on his own. She told me when she was younger that she wanted to be just as strong and brave as the scouts, as well as becoming stronger than the famed Captain Levi."

"You're joking aren't you?"

Alena shook her head no. "Just you wait and see. I think you will be surprised."

This new revelation from Alena about their daughter only made Levi's excitement grow.

* * *

The journey seemed to drag on as the sun dipped lower in the sky. After several more stops to rest and water the horses, the small group arrived at a homestead that sat just north of the Stohess District, just as the sun was setting. There was a village nearby, but this seemed to be more of a farm.

"The Hendrichs provide the military with some of their food stuffs such as grains and a little meat," Alena whispered as the group rode down a path towards a house in the distance.

Levi said nothing as he watched the house grow closer and closer. He could feel his heart threatening to come out of his chest with how fast it was beating. His daughter – his little girl was in that house. It was now only a matter of minutes before he would see her for the first time.

Suddenly the front door to the house opened and a figure started running towards them. "Mommy!" a little voice could be heard yelling. "Mommy's home!"

Alena picked up the speed of Max as she moved ahead of the twins. Levi sat back and watched. She rode until she was almost to the house before stopping Max and dismounting him. She opened her arms wide as she took the full brunt of Natasha running in to her. A small smile spread across Levi's face as he watched the interaction between mother and daughter.

Knowing about the reunion that was about to happen, the twins quickly said hello to Natasha before making their way up to the house, where their own mother was waiting for them on the front porch. That left Levi the only one remaining. He had dismounted from Noir before moving closer to Alena and Natasha. Silently he watched the woman he loved hold the daughter that he had never known about in her arms. Alena looked up at him and smiled.

"I brought home someone to meet you," Alena whispered to Natasha as their hug continued.

The little girl looked up at her mother, who Levi noticed wasn't that much shorter then Alena was, with a smile beginning to spread on her face. "Did you remember who papa was?" the little girl asked hopeful.

Alena nodded as she turned Natasha around to face Levi. With bated breath, Levi did not say as word as he looked upon his daughter's face for the first time. Alena had been telling the truth about Natasha's eyes – they were the exact same color as his, only slightly bigger in size to match Alena's. Yet her face shape matched his with its sharpness and angles. She was beautiful, just like her mother. This was his little girl.

Tears were welling up in the corners of Natasha's eyes as she looked at her father for the first time. This was better than anything that she has ever dreamed of. Her hero, Captain Levi, was her father!

Levi took a hesitant step towards Natasha before reaching out and touching her cheek. After days of worrying and wondering, here was his daughter – his own flesh and blood. And she was perfect. Then without warning, Natasha flung herself against him and hugged him tightly. A bit taken back, it took Levi a moment before he wrapped his arms around his daughter and hugged her tightly as well.

Alena stood the side and watched the first interaction between father and daughter with tears in her eyes. Not only had Natasha's dream about meeting her father come true that night – but Alena's dream had as well.

Her family was whole once again.

And for now, life was perfect.

* * *

 _ **AN: Awww happiness! It would have been a longer chapter, but I wanted to give ya'll something since it had been a few days. So enjoy and look for another update soon!**_


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Levi sat at the kitchen table and sipped on a cup of tea as he watched Alena and Natasha prepare some vegetables for that night's stew. Even though they had arrived at the Hendrich homestead towards nightfall, Alena still insisted on preparing dinner like she always did since Momma Hendrich took care of Natasha along with the family farm – especially after both her husband and Patty died all in a three year time span. Thankfully there were more then enough locals who needed jobs. So the homestead had been left in more then capable hands while the twins and even Patty had been off with in the military.

Moving the chair back a bit more from the table, Levi angled his body so that he sat a bit more comfortably. He could have been sitting in a much more comfortable chair or even lounging on the couch in the sitting room with the twins and their mother, but that wasn't where he wanted to be. He wanted to be with his family – the woman he loved and the daughter he had only just learned about a few days ago – he had missed out on so much in Natasha's life already that he wanted to relish every moment he could since there were no guarantees about the next day, especially with his line of work.

Especially for a survey scout.

As he continued to watched Alena and Natasha prepare the meal, he noticed a few things that were similar between the mother and daughter – from the way that they both stood as they sliced vegetables to how their eyes would light up with a glimmer as they talked about certain things to their smile.

Their smile was the exact same.

Natasha may have inherited his eyes and facial structure, but she inherited her smile from Alena. And that was a good thing. He loved Alena's smile. He really did. It was part of her warmth that had won him over so long ago. It was part of who she was.

Thankfully the events that caused her to forget even more of her past had not caused her to loose her smile.

Yet all of this was in the past.

Now all Levi could imagine was a future that was free of the Titans and free of the damn walls that held humanity in. He had never allowed himself to imagine such a future, but now he did. Now he had a reason to dream such a dream.

His family.

While he had always planned on marrying Alena and having a family with her in the past, numerous things had happened which had prevented that from happening. Yet now, she was back in his arms and things were different – much different and he'd be damned if anything would take either Alena or Natasha away from him ever again.

That was why he was determined to ask Alena to marry him sometime in the next few days. He just had to find the perfect time to do so.

He had finally found the life that he wanted and he wasn't going to let anything destroy it, even if it meant fighting until the last beat of his heart for both humanity and his family, he would.

* * *

"Absolutely not!"

"But!"

"NO!"

Silence reigned as Levi and Natasha glared each other down from opposite sides of the dining room table while Alena watched from the side. Dinner had started as a relaxed affair - Natasha had told stories about what she had been learning in school from the nearby village and how a lot of her friends were about to join training corps because they were going to be of age the following year. Then she mentioned how she wanted to join as well. That was when Levi made his feelings on the subject known.

Thus leading to the shouting match. The twins and Momma Hendrich had quickly and quietly excused themselves, giving all the space that Alena needed to be able to handle Natasha and her temper. They all knew how temperamental the young girl could get. But what only Alena knew was that Natasha had met her match when it came to her father and his temper.

"Why don't you ask why your father doesn't want you to go through cadet training," Alena suggested, breaking the silence that hung over the dining room.

Natasha huffed as she angled her body away from both of her parents. They were both being unreasonable! Why should it even matter? All her friends were joining the training corps, so why couldn't she? She glanced up at her parents, both of whom were waiting for any sort of response from her.

"Why papa?" she finally asked. "Why do you not want me to join the training corps?"

"Because I do not want my own daughter to have to fight Titans." Levi said looking her straight in the eyes as he stood up from where he had been sitting. "You shouldn't have to worry about fighting for the sake of humanity when you are 12 years old, especially when humanity has given you nothing in return but instead has taken everything away from you. And you want to fight to protect that?"

"I want to fight for what is right!" Natasha said, standing up to glare her father in the eyes.

"What is right isn't always right. You just have to be willing to live with the choices you make and have no regrets with those choices." Levi said glancing at Alena for a moment before turning his attention back to Natasha.

"But you are the strongest solider there is! You have no regrets!"

At her daughter's words, Alena's eyes went wide as she turned her attention away from Natasha and to Levi. His head was turned downward with a fist formed against the tabletop. She could tell that he was holding back his temper that was building. Contrary to popular belief, Captain Levi had many regrets; he just did not share them with the rest of humanity. Instead he kept them bottled up inside, just like many of his emotions – it was one of the reasons why he was able to be the strongest.

But how was Natasha supposed to know that?

Hell, Alena had only recently found out for herself. "Levi," she calmly said trying to get his attention. He did not budge. "Levi Ackerman!" she said a bit more firmly.

That did it.

Levi's face shot up and he glared at her before meeting her return glare in which he understood what her eyes where saying – 'let me deal with Natasha for now.'

Without saying a word, Levi turned from the table and left the dining room, leaving only Natasha and Alena sitting there. Once Alena had heard the front door open and shut, she let out a heavy sigh that she had been holding in before turning to look at her daughter who had sat back down. "Just because you have heard stories about someone doesn't mean you know the entire story. Haven't I told you that before?" Alena questioned her daughter.

Natasha turned her eyes downwards towards the table. "You have," she quietly said.

"And what else have I told you?" Alena demanded.

"Not to believe everything I hear."

"Exactly!"

"But…"

"BUT NOTHING!" Alena bellowed before taking a deep breath then speaking again. "Now, I am only going to explain this once about your father - so pay attention. It is true that he is humanity's strongest solider, yet there are things that he regrets. Every death that the survey corps endures, he regrets. Yet his biggest regret was not being able to protect me. If he had been able to that then he would have been there as a father for you and perhaps things would be different, but they aren't. You just have to be willing to live with those choices and have no regrets."

It was almost as if Alena could watch the realization spread across Natasha's face as her daughter began to understand what the words meant that were just spoken to her – even though Levi had said almost the same thing to her. "Now do you get it?" Alena asked.

Natasha nodded as she stood up and left the dining room to go and find her father. Alena smiled to herself as she stood to clear away the dinner dishes. She was right – Natasha and Levi were exactly alike.

* * *

Within moments of leaving the house, Natasha found her father walking along one of the nearby pasture fences near to the house. The twins had pointed her in the general direction that Levi had gone. The full moon lit the path and provided enough light to see in the cloudless night.

"Papa!" she called out, causing Levi to stop and turn to look at her as she came running towards him. It was still going to take a bit to get used to getting called 'papa', but it was growing on him.

Once Natasha had caught up to him, Levi began walking again in the moonlight. For a few minutes, they walked in silence, until Natasha finally spoke up. "I'm sorry papa."

"What for?"

"Yelling at you and saying that you had no regrets without knowing the entire story."

"Most people don't know the stories about my past. They only choose what they want to believe about me. I honestly don't care anymore. All that matters is that I know the truth and I know what matters."

"Like mommy? She matters, right?"

Levi nodded. "And you," he added. "That's why I don't want you going through training when you are so young. That doesn't mean that you can't go through it someday. Just not when you are 12."

"Maybe when I'm 15?" she suggested.

"We can talk about it then," Levi said as he turned their path back towards the house. He silently hoped that Natasha never would have to join any of the military branches and that the Titans would be eradicated in the next few years. But he would keep his feelings to himself for the time being.

By the time that they reached the house, Alena was witting on the front stairs waiting for them. The twins and Momma Hendrich had gone to bed. "Time for bed," Alena said, opening her arms up for Natasha who hugged her mother tightly before turning back to her father and hugging him tightly as well. And much to Alena's surprise – just like much of the entire day had been – Levi hugged Natasha back.

"Everything ok?" Alena asked, once Natasha had gone into the house and gone to bed.

Levi nodded as he wrapped an arm around Alena and pulled her tightly against him. "Never better," he answered before kissing her lips.

Alena sighed happily as she wrapped herself in Levi's warm embrace. Who would have ever through that Captain Levi would have a soft spot? Nobody would. That's why she would never tell a soul. These would be the moments that she would want to remember about her life in case none of her other memories never came back – the happy memories of when her family was happy and together.

"Alena?" came a whisper in her ear from Levi that brought Alena out of her thoughts.

"Hmm?" she questioned as a smile spread across her face as she felt Levi's fingers dance across her wrist where her blue cord bracelet with the silver star now rested once again. She did not wear it while she was with the scouts because she was scared to loose it. So instead she kept it safe at the farmhouse and only wore it during her visits it at home. She only recently remembered that it had been Levi who had given it to her.

"Marry me?" came the whisper in her ear again.

Alena pulled back to look at Levi's face in the moonlight in shock. Had she heard correctly? Did Levi just ask her to marry him? Sensing her confusion, he asked her again. "Alena, will you marry me?" he asked again, placing a hand against her cheek and looking directly into her eyes in the moonlight.

The smile that was already on her face only grew in size as she nodded yes before throwing her arms around Levi's neck and hugging him tightly. Levi wrapped his arms tightly around her and kissed her deeply on the lips.

It was the perfect ending to a near perfect day.

* * *

 _ **AN**_ _ **: As one of my best friends would say – HAPPINESS AND RAINBOWS! Anyways, sorry for the extremely late update, a little thing called "real life aka teaching" came back into existence and summer ended :(**_

 _ **But have no fear! Now that SleepyHollow5 has started reading this story she will make sure that I keep updating! Please let me know what you think!**_


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12:**

The soft moonlight bathed the bedroom of the farmhouse in a dim light. Levi's eyes had long since adjusted to the dim moonlight since the candle that had been in the room had long ago burned out, yet he was not bothered by the lack of light in the room.

In fact, he preferred it this way. Sometimes he found that the moonlight gave him comfort.

It gave him time to think.

Time to think about everything that had changed in his life in a matter of days – having gone from being 'single and pretty certain that you were never going to get married' to 'having a daughter and married' the next. Yet he wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. He just hadn't admitted that to anyone yet. Levi relished in the feeling of being able to wake up with Alena curled up tightly against him, knowing that this woman loved him just as much as he loved her. While he knew that this would only be lasting a few more days up until the start of the expedition, he knew that he needed to savior all the moments of peace that he had with her since there was no telling what could happen on the expedition.

That had been one of the reasons why he had asked Alena to marry him the day that they had arrived at the Hendrichs' family farm where Natasha was living. Then a few days later in a small, private ceremony with their daughter, the twins and Momma Hendrich present, they had been married. It was one of the few days in his life that Levi could actually remember smiling – but he knew that he did. He smiled at Alena as they recited their vows to each other with their friends and daughter present. And he was still smiling when the village elder said that they were now husband and wife. It was the happiest he had ever seen Alena in his life.

And that to him was perfect.

She was his wings of freedom. As long as she was by his side, Levi felt that he could do anything. But then again, perhaps that was just love. Who really knew. Yet whatever the case maybe, Levi knew that he never wanted to loose these newly found feelings. He had felt them once before with Alena, yet his devious uncle had snatched those feelings away from him.

But not this time.

No, this time he was never letting go.

The feel of the bed shifting next to him caught his attention as Levi turned to look down at the sleeping figure in his arms. Alena shifted against his shoulder as she pressed her face against his collarbone and sighed contently in her sleep. gingerly, Levi brushed a loose strand of hair that had fallen in front of her face and out of her eyes before tracing her side of her face with his fingertips. As he did this, a smile formed on her face – almost as if she knew exactly what he was doing – even though he knew that she was still sound asleep.

Yes, even with all of his regrets about his past, here in his arms was one less thing he regretted – never making Alena his wife. His only regret now was that it had not been sooner so that he could have more nights like this.

But such is life.

Expeditions will come and go. All they could do was hope for the best, yet expect the worse. They both knew this. Yet that was a risk they were willing to take. But hopefully soon, all of their sacrifices will have come to fruition and they both can have what they truly desire with each other.

A real family.

* * *

 _ **AN: I'M SORRY! Life has gotten in the way and work has been bonkers for the basically the last few weeks! I feel awful! Anyways, this is a "bridge" chapter going from one part of the story to the next. So let me know what you think! I promise to update sooner!**_


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